Don't Forget to Smile
by Snowbell187
Summary: Alvira mistakenly goes to Volterra with her best friend Lilith. They are lured in by Heidi, but manage to escape her gift of attraction. The two have caught Aro's attention, and now there's no turning back. Alec/OC
1. To Volterra We Go

**Hellooo my lovelies! I'm super excited and kinda nervous cuz this is my first ever fanfic to the world! Please have mercy on me lol. **

**I've read many other fanfics from Twilight and finally i thought, ok why dont i give it a shot?**

**Any types of reviews r welcome, i appreciate criticism and alot of that other stuff. just keep the flaming down please :3**

**Well enjoi!**

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><p>"Purse?"<p>

"Check."

"Water?"

"Check."

"Camera?"

"Check"

"Looks like we got everything…Wait –we still need a map!" Lilith exclaimed, hurrying out of the room to go get one.

My best friend, Lilith, was always planning things one step ahead. She was also the one that suggested we go tour the city we were residing in for the week – Venice. She was rushing madly to get everything prepared so we didn't have a shortage of supplies while wandering the streets in Italy.

Lilith and I were raised in a very wealthy environment. My dad was a doctor and my mother was a lawyer. Lilith's parents coincidently shared the same occupations – thus resulting in our family's close bonds. Our parents scheduled frequent trips around the world, so we were constantly packing our bags and seeing new places. Sounded like an ideal life right? Traveling around the world, expensive clothes, and large amounts of money to spend… But life wasn't always this perfect.

Other than Lilith, I have never found a true friend. Our families were constantly on the move –be it promotions, job deals, or high quality hospitals in need of my father's expertise. Everything about our families screamed high class; and such high status attracted the snooty females in our schools towards us like a magnet.

I'll tell you one thing; snooty was not a word that applied to me or Lilith. Our parents were very strict with etiquette and proper manners –our mothers made it absolute law in our household to never pick on the less fortunate. Me and Lilith gladly obliged by these rules. We usually just stuck together during school, and we shared with each other the never ending details of our adventures around the globe. We preferred each other's company over the large numbers of snobs in our private school that sought out our attention. But we did find some company in those less arrogant and more conserved. But we eventually had to bid our farewells to them, mostly because it was impossible for our family to stay in one place for more than a year. There were the few odd ones that kept in touch and we still converse till this day.

There were not a lot of rules to go by in our households. Our parent's trusted us a fair amount, and they had full confidence in our responsibilities as 15 year old girls. A rare trait many families did not have.

"Here it is!" Lilith shoved a map under my nose and I scanned the piece of parchment for possible points of interest we could visit. Venice was a beautiful city, just brimming with possibilities of adventure.

"We must go see the Piazza San Marco!" I said, pointing at an area in the center of the map.

"Yes, we must go there! That's Venice's highest point of interest; a must see for anyone here. And their pizza…we definitely have to try that too!" Lilith squealed, literally bouncing with excitement.

We grabbed our necessities and headed out the door of our suite. We exited the hotel and we rode a water taxi that escorted us to the famed Piazza San Marco.

We walked down the streets; stopping by the occasional store or stand bearing fruit. Of course, when you're in Italy, not eating pizza would be a crime. So we visited a small, elegant restaurant by the name of Pranzo Delizioso di Mario. We scarfed down the pizza like there was no tomorrow, and left the waitresses a very generous amount of tips.

"Hey Al, how about we pay Volterra a visit tomorrow? It's not far from Venice and the ferry ride will be grand!" Lilith suggested.

"I don't see why not… We most likely won't be back in Italy for a while, since your mom wants us in Paris by next week…" I said, thinking of all the places Lilith's mom wanted us to go to.

We rode another water taxi back to our hotel. As soon as we got into our room I plopped down on the couch; my energy was spent. I lazily walked into the bathroom, shut the door, and peered into my reflection.

Now, I wasn't exactly hard on the eyes, but I didn't find myself all that pretty either. I had wavy hair that was as dark as night. It reached right below my average sized chest. Unlike Lilith's, she had fiery red curly hair that reached down to her middle back.

I had an oval shaped face, but what stood out the most were my eyes. They were silver, not dull silver, but bright silver that stood out. They didn't look natural, but natural enough that they didn't look artificial and fake. My height stood at 5'5, but I was short compared to Lilith's 5'7 stature.

I always viewed Lilith as a sister, a best friend, a shoulder to cry on. I depended a lot on her and as did she. We shared many similarities but at times we contrasted like black and white. She would be loud and I would be quiet, I would be ditzy at times and she would take my place as the intelligent one of the two.

My thoughts were then interrupted by an impatient Lilith, demanding use of the bathroom.

"Alvira hurry up in there! I really got to go pee!"

Typical Lilith.

The next day, I awoke with the sun in my eyes. I rubbed them drearily, and then went back to sleep. '5 more minutes..' I said to myself, and proceeded to drift to unconsciousness.

Not even 5 minutes later Lilith pulled the covers off of me and started poking me in the sides. I immediately reacted with a small scream, my body now empty of all sleepiness.

"Rise and shine, today is going to be a grand day! I can predict it!" Lilith declared, her hair a mess and she was still clad in her pink PJs.

"Yeah yeah whatever let's just get on with this" I responded monotonously. My body might have been fully alert, but my mind yearning to go back to sleep. I lazily go out of the bed and slowly made my way into the bathroom, splashing cold water into my face.

We got ready and started making our way out of the hotel, down the streets of Florence, and to Volterra. We rode a ferry there and we were accompanied by a few other citizens and tourists. The ride there was peaceful, I watched as the water rippled ever so subtly like a soft lullaby. After a few more moments of hearing the seagulls chirp and gazing at water; we arrived at our destination.

The streets of Volterra were not all that different than Florence. Volterra kept the medieval theme, and if anything, they enhanced it with walls that looked a thousand years old. If I didn't know better, I would of thought I was in the Middle Ages itself.

"We're finally here! I can't wait to see what they have in store for us here!" exclaimed Lilith. I had no clue where she got her enthusiasm from – Volterra looked as appealing as a history class.

Lilith then proceeded to explore the place delightfully. She did have a fondness for history, which was unexpected for a person of her bubbly nature. As she dragged me around, I was starting to get bored to tears.

"Liltih can we please take a break, my feet are killing me." I protested. We had been walking around the place for an hour now, and I was very eager to sit down somewhere and let my sore feet rest.

"Oh fine, but only for a few minutes! There's so much architecture to look at!" said Lilith. We then sat down in front of a large fountain that had a statue in the center of a woman. It was a nice spot, it had shade that shielded us from the sun's warm heat. As I was admiring the fountain I did not notice a woman saunter towards us.

"Ciao! Would you like to join our tour?" she inquired. I was shocked at what my ears were hearing and what my eyes were seeing. Her voice resembled bells and wind chimes, with an edge of sexiness to it (if that made any sense). But what's more, she had the body of a goddess. She was clad in a long-sleeved red top that loosely hugged her hourglass figure. She was wearing tights that clung to her long legs that were accented by her black stilettos. Her hair was a lustrous shade of brown that curled down to her waist, and her eyes were an unusual shade of violet.

I peeked over at Lilith and she was also gawking at the Aphrodite in front of us. I tapped her on the shoulder and give her a questioning glance. She nodded, as if in a trance-like state and we followed the woman and her entourage of at least 30 tourists.

"This way please, and stay together!" The woman instructed. She then proceeded to lead us into a castle that looked like it came right out of a fairy tale – it had a traditional air to it. I couldn't stop following the woman; it was like I was attracted to her. Not as in love, but as if she was a fisher and I was the fish on the hook being reeled in by her.

This analogy snapped me back to reality. Something wasn't right; there was something about that woman that was luring us in. What were we doing? We weren't supposed to be following strangers, especially dangerously beautiful strangers! I quickly scanned our group for Lilith. Once I found her, I grabbed her wrist and started pulling her towards the opposite direction. She threw me an irritated glare "What are you doing? Didn't you hear her; we're supposed to be following!"

"Lilith, don't you remember what my mom said about following strangers such as her? Snap out of it, you're supposed to be the reasonable one here!" I reproached. If even Lilith was losing her cool, then there was definitely something going on here.

The crowd went around us and soon we were left behind, standing in the corridor alone. Then we heard a pair of heavy doors open and close, and screams pierced the air. My eyes widened at what my ears were picking up. What was going on in there? Bloody murder? Fear started making its way through my body as I thought of what would have happened if I didn't stop myself and Lilith from advancing through those doors.

I then saw realization and then fear come to life in Lilith's eyes, and she looked around for the exit, panicking.

"Oh no, oh no, what do we do?" She asked. She looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. I had only seen Lilith hyperventilate twice before, and it was always in dire situations. I didn't blame her; my breaths were coming in short also.

"We have to get out of here…come on! She won't notice if we're quick enough" I replied hurriedly. We then made our way to the exit and walked as fast as we could out of the dark castle. On our way there, I noticed something I failed to notice before. A receptionist table, and behind there was a blonde headed woman; daintily typing away at her computer. She looked up from the computer screen and confusion registered on her face. She yelled after us but we were too in a hurry to care. Wasting no time, Lilith and I made our way out of the castle hastily.

I was never happier in my life to see the sunlight again, I calmed down as we stepped foot outside. Lilith and I both let a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank god we made it out…I don't know what would happen if we didn't…" I breathed.

Lilith was taking shaky breaths, and after a few moments she finally calmed down.

"Al, I'm so sorry! I should have never suggested Volterra…we could of went to Florence instead!" Lilith apologized with a sorrowful look on her face.

I pulled her into a tight hug. "It's not your fault, and don't worry we're leaving Italy tomorrow. My dad already has our flight booked so all we have to do is start packing" I said, soothing Lilith.

We then went back on the ferry to Venice. Our trip back was silent, not even the seagulls could break through the thick tension in the air. All cheer was completely drained out of Lilith's demeanor. She sat hunchbacked with her head in her heads, staring at the waters. Her face was devoid of all color, and she her eyes held anxiety. I was replaying the events that had occurred today. I was especially curious about the blond receptionist that seemed confused. As if two girls running away from the tour was not part of the routine. I shuddered as I became aware that the blonde was most likely involved with the woman that tried to lure us to our demise.

When we got back to our hotel room, Lilith and I collapsed on the bed with exhaustion. I felt a small trembling and I looked over. Lilith was sobbing into her pillow, and soon I found tears started to stream down my face too.

"V-Vira…I'm scared…we were so close to dying and getting murdered by that…that witch!" She sputtered.

"Y-you think I'm not scared? That w-woman put us in some sort of t-trance…" I sobbed back.

"W-we have to tell our parents about this! We need some…no, _more_ security…" Lilith said. She then grabbed a box of tissues and started blowing her nose.

We always had good protection; our parent's made sure of that. One time, when Lilith and I were just 12, we got lost in a gigantic mall In Paris. Our parents called security and they searched for us frantically. Finally, they found us in a photo booth taking funny pictures. From then on they made sure they could find us at all times, even installing tracking devices in our cell phones. But now, I think the next step in security would be a personal body guard.

I grabbed my phone out of my purse and started dialing numbers. My mom and dad weren't picking up their phones; much to my irritation. They were probably caught up in several meetings. My mom and dad seldom had time these days. I dialed Lilith's parents, and I was met with the same results.

"Looks like we're going to have to wait a bit for that enhanced security…don't worry Lilith we're leaving tomorrow." I reassured.

Lilith took a deep breath. "I guess so, let's just start packing… I don't want to spend any more time in this place than I have to" she mumbled, and we then proceeded to pack.

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><p><strong>Back in the Volturi's lair… (3<strong>**rd**** Person P.O.V)**

The room shortly went silent after the last of the mortals were drained of all life. Aro wiped his mouth, satisfied with the meal, and then turned to Heidi with an amused look.

"This is quite rare my dear Heidi. You usually fetch 30, and yet today you have only brought in 28…how peculiar" Aro mused.

Heidi's face scrunched up in confusion. 'Only 28…?' she did a brief headcount of the dead bodies lying on the blood-stained floor, and her eyes widened when she realized the red-head and the one with the silver eyes were absent.

"But how… I made it completely clear to everyone that they should have been following my lead. The ones that are missing are two mere girls!" Heidi retorted, flabbergasted.

Aro raised his brows, completely intrigued. He made his way over to Heidi, his hand outstretched, expecting hers. Heidi reluctantly put her hand in Aro's and then Aro went into deep concentration as he read Heidi's thoughts.

"Perhaps…it was just a mere accident. They appeared to be under your spell until you walked through those doors…then they just disappeared" Aro pondered out loud.

"A human is just a human. But I presume that they already heard screams and are right now reflecting on it. They must be disposed, or else we are at risk of being _exposed." _Caius's irritated voice stated as he threw the human he just fed on aside.

Then a rather baffled Gianna entered the room hurriedly.

"There have been two humans that escaped the castle! They know!" Gianna informed, panicked. Aro quickly made his way towards her and took her hand. His eyes widened as he heard the two girl's rushed conversation through Gianna's ears as they made their way out of the castle.

"My friends, this is a rather interesting matter we have in our hands! We must quickly pursue these girls, I have a feeling we have some raw talent in our hands" Aro exclaimed with glee.

"Demetri… I'm sending you along with Heidi to track down these two girls. I understand you have not encountered them as of yet, but I assure you they won't be hard to find. Make whatever arrangements you need, but you are under strict orders to bring them back alive" Aro instructed.

"Yes master, I'll make sure I have them back in one piece." Demetri replied smoothly. He then made his way out of the room – Heidi following suite.

"My brothers…I predict a few new pieces will be added to our wonderful… family, fairly soon..." Aro affirmed with a smile on his face.

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><p><strong>And there it is! Please review if u likey, it shows me that people actually read the story :3<strong>

**More will be revealed on how Alvira managed to escape Heidi's gift, her being human and all.  
><strong>

**Much love,**

**Snowbell :3**


	2. Vampire 101

**Hello again!**

**I just wanted to thank all you readers who have added my story to favourites and alerts, it means alot to know that people are reading this :) and huge thanks to angel2u and XxYuikixX for being my first ever reviewers! COOKIES FOR ALL!**

**And yes, this is going to be an AlecxOC story! Don't worry, alec will be in the next chapter in all his smexy glory! **

**Well, here's chapter 2. I know theres not alot of action but it leads up to all the interesting things that will happen in chapter 3, ENJOI!**

**And before i forget, I don't own annyyy of these characters other than Emilia, Alvira, and Lilith. Twilight, and all it's sparkly glory belongs to Stephanie Meyer.~**

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><p>It was one of those nights where sleep failed to find me. The events that occurred earlier that day were on repeat in my head. I could tell Lilith wasn't having a good night either. Just as I was finally about to drift off with sleep; Lilith burst out crying for the second time that night.<p>

The unpleasant incident was doing strange things to us… It was usually me that cried for countless hours, not Lilith. I was astounded at the maturity and calmness that seemed to suddenly develop within me, and I rubbed soothing circles on Lilith's back while whispering gentle words. Just like she always did to me.

"Shhh, Lilith it's going to be alright. When we get to Paris we can go do a whole bunch of crazy things and forget all this ever happened. We're safe now; our parents will make sure of it."

Just as I mentioned my parents, my phone started vibrating madly in my purse. I rushed over to unzip it and I examined the Caller ID. '_Call from Eliza White_.' The screen announced. I hurriedly pressed the green button and shoved the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I answered, breathless.

"Alvira sweetie, what's going on?" My mom's sweet voice asked in a worried tone.

I took a deep breath, and told her the whole story (with the occasional detail from Lilith, who was still recovering from the shock). I told her about Lilith suggested we go to Volterra, and then ended it off with the part where we just barely escaped the castle.

My mom listened intently, with the frequent gasp of surprised here and there. When I was finished, all that was left was a silence filled with anxiety and heaps of tension.

"…Mom?" I questioned warily.

"…Hold on sweet heart, I have to have a word with your father." She replied. My heart started to sink to my stomach in dread at the tone her voice possessed. The only other time her voice held such wariness was when she informed me my dearest Grandma Freya was dying of the horrid disease known as Cancer. She was still alive today, but barely. She had to live in a hospital for the rest of her life.

In the midst of the conversation, I didn't notice Lilith crawling over to my side and I let out a surprised squeal when I turned my head a smidge to find her serious face in close proximity of the phone – probably to pick up as much of the conversation as possible.

A few more moments of the tension-filled silence resumed. Not even Lilith had the spirit to break it like she usually did. I had set the phone in front of me on speaker-phone and we both literally sat there staring at it restlessly. After a few more moments my mom's voice finally resounded through the phone's speaker, and Lilith and I jolted back to life.

"Listen to me closely Alvira. Your father and I have contacted a body guard that, fortunately, happens to be very close by to where your hotel is. I want you and Lilith to stay in your room until she reaches you. She will escort you two to the airport and personally take the flight back with you, understand?" My mom's voice asked, grave.

"I understand…But what will she look like? What's her name?" I replied, questions just streaming into my head like water.

"Her name is Emilia; you'll know her when you see her. I must be going now" She stated apologetically.

"Your father and I have to catch a flight back to Washington. There have been many accidents involving lost limbs, and the hospital there is in need of your father's aid." She informed regretfully.

"Right…I'll tell Lilith everything." I reassured. "Oh and Mom, thanks for everything…" I said, suddenly aware of just how lucky Lilith and I were to have such protective parents.

"Send Lilith my regards, and one more thing. Alvira…please come back home safely. The both of you... I'll be praying on my whole flight back. You two will never leave my thoughts, and I will inform Lilith's parents of this as soon as I can. I'll see you soon back in Washington, please…be safe. I love you." My mom replied, sadness coated her voice like a cold blanket.

"I love you too mom, I promise we'll make it back safely…tell dad I love him too" I answered sadness similar to my mom's. I was about to hang up, but then a male's voice interrupted. "Wait!"

My hand stopped halfway in the air, halting its journey to the red END button.

"Dad? Is that you?" I asked with uncertainty.

"Alvira, you have no idea how serious this is. Once Emilia arrives at your door, do not, and I repeat _do not_ leave her side." My father's solemn voice instructed, and the line went dead.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it in shock of the instructions my dad gave me to stay close to this Emilia woman. I came to a conclusion that whoever that perilously, beautiful woman that lured us into the tour was, she meant danger. And what led behind those doors meant even more danger, and death.

I glanced at Lilith to find that she was equally as dazed as I was, if not even more so. Then finally, for the first time, she spoke a steady sentence. "I guess all we can do now is start wait for that Emilia woman…" she declared. I looked over at the mirror across from us and examined our reflections. Her eyes were rimmed with red from crying so much, and her cheeks were very pink. My reflection wasn't much different, and my eyes seemed to lose their silver shine from the grieving.

"Well…might as well not sit around…let's watch T.V. or _something." _I supposed.

Lilith took a deep breath as if she was doing yoga. "…your right. Let's." She said with a strained smile on her face. I knew she was trying her best to return to her usual persona and stop moping, but I knew she was still terrified. I gave her a reassuring smile of my own and we then took a seat on the elegant red couch the room contained. I grabbed the remote and turned the flat screen T.V. on.

To our dismay, we were met with a pair of large fangs that sunk its way into some poor victim's neck. We watched, paralyzed with fear as the vampire proceeded to drink the blood of an innocent woman. Finally, Lilith swiftly grabbed the remote out of my still hands and changed the channel to comedy.

"Oops…" I spoke, giving a nervous smile. The Big Bang Theory was on, and that was our favorite show. But today, not even Sheldon's odd way of speech could cheer us up. We sat in silence, simply staring at the T.V. and zoning out.

Then a few sharp knocks on our door shot us right back into reality. I sat upright, my eyes as wide as saucers with alarm. Lilith started chewing her newly manicured nails – a nervous habit that she could not get out of no matter what she tried. We slowly and anxiously made our way to the door, praying it wasn't another bizarre person inviting us on a tour. The person at the door seemed impatient, as they rapped on the door again more loudly. I gave Lilith a wary glance, and she slowly nodded and gestured at the door knob for me to open it.

I opened the door a smidge, and was greeted by a tall woman that seemed to be in her late 20's. She was wearing one of those lady's business suits that screamed _professional._ Beneath her outfit, I could see toned arms that roughly resembled that of a woman body builder and her height was a staggering 6'0, towering over my mine easily. I had to crane my neck upwards to see her face.

She had a very attractive face. Her complexion was as pale as the moon, and her eyes were a shocking golden color. She had high cheekbones, full lips, and dark hair tied back in a sleek ponytail. But I knew just by a glance that she was no snobby model. She had a hard look in her eyes, and judging by her appearance and sturdy aura, I knew she could take on an army with just her fists. I didn't even dare to imagine what it would be like to get _her_ angry.

She contemplated me quietly, her gaze softened into a friendly one you would use around frightened children.

I opened the door all the way to let Lilith see, and her eyes widened. Then I saw something in Lilith's eyes…fear? I gave her a confused stare, but then realization slowly made its way into my system. Bit by bit, I turned my head back to the woman in front of us and gasped. She resembled the woman back in Volterra – unnatural eyes and pale skin. I slowly started to back away from the door dreadfully. What if she was working for that woman? What if she was just going to kill us here and now for fleeing the tour?

The woman stared at us puzzled, but then I saw understanding enter her eyes and she chuckled softly.

"Do not fret my dear ones; I come on behalf of your father, Alphard White. He has notified me about your recent trip to Volterra and the incidents that have occurred. Fear not, your help is here, my name is Emilia." She informed in a friendly, but professional way. I let out a huge sigh of relief and behind me; I could hear Lilith doing the same. So she was on our side. But why did she resemble that woman so much?

From my peripheral vision I saw Lilith walk out from behind me to greet Emilia. "I'm so relieved you're here for us! My name is Lilith Sanders and this here is Alvira White" Lilith introduced. Emilia grinned, revealing perfect white teeth, and held out her hand for us to shake.

Lilith shook hers first, and I saw her flinch a bit, but quickly recovered. It was then my turn to shake Emilia's hand. The moment my skin touched hers I could see why Lilith was flinched. Her skin was as cold as ten buckets full of ice! After I shook her cold hand, I gave her a nervous smile and withdrew my hand.

That hard look of hers returned, as if she just entered professional mode again, and she quickly did a once-over of the room. Then, it was finally time to leave.

She helped us send our luggage to the airport via Italy's travel services since cars were not allowed on the streets of Venice. The sun was slowly setting and I could see the moon slowly start to rise against the horizon. We rode a water taxi to the large airport, and after we checked in, we got past security and took a seat. Emilia had directed our luggage to go to Washington. That was where ours and our parent's destination was.

While Emilia was away to get some coffee for the both of us, Lilith and I started having a normal conversation for the first time in these two hectic days. Lilith's cheery character had seemed to make a comeback from fear's confinement. And I was pleased to say that I wasn't doing all that badly either, for Emilia's company had brought a great amount of reassurance for our safety.

"Well, I guess we aren't going to be visiting Italy anytime soon" Lilith confirmed, with huge relief.

"Agreed, I think our lives have been scarred enough as is. So, what kind of events will we be attending when we arrive in Paris, Mademoiselle? " I asked in French. Paris was by far our favorite place to go during the holidays, thus resulting in our fluency in the French language. The city was romantic, the stores were high class, and best of all, the place didn't resemble Italy, not even in the slightest – just what we needed to get away from the trauma.

Right when Lilith was about to respond with what I presumed was at least twenty different ideas – Emilia came back with two steaming coffees in both hands. She handed us both one each and I couldn't help but notice that her skin still remained ice cold even after carrying those warm coffee.

I muttered a small 'thank you 'and proceeded to sip my coffee.

"Emilia…do you know who those people are? The one's that seemed to use the castle in Volterra as their secret base…" Lilith asked.

Emilia took a moment to contemplate, as if deliberating whether or not to tell us. Then finally, she spoke. "What I am about to tell you two is important and it is vital that you _do not_ speak of it. Not to yourselves, not to anyone. It may seem to be very false, and frankly, it doesn't concern me whether or not you believe what I am about to tell you. But, after today, you will act as if I have never spoken of such things to you two, understand?" Emilia asked. The graveness in her voice quickly turned the once cheery atmosphere, into a grim mood.

We nodded, keen on finding out the identities of the violet-eyed woman, and the receptionist.

Emilia nodded and took a deep breath. "They call themselves the Volturi. An organization , or _coven_ as we call it, of vampires. Yes, they feed on human blood, but that's about the only part of the folklore that's true. Vampires do exist, but not akin to the ones in the stories or T.V. shows you are entertained with rather frequently. The Volturi aren't the only ones out there. There are many of their kind roaming the world. The reason the secret hasn't been exposed is thanks to the Volturi. They enforce the law – they are royalty. One slight slip up and they will hunt you down to the ends of the earth to administer only one punishment – death." Emilia spoke; her golden eyes watched ours solemnly.

A dead silence followed her speech. I was immediately reminded of the vampire that appeared on our T.V. back in the hotel room brutally drinking out of a victim's neck. Vampires? Volturi? _Drinking human blood?_

Dozens of questions starting swarming around in my head like angry bees.

"But if they're so keen on keeping everything secret, why were they luring in over a dozen tourists into their…lair?" I demanded.

"You misunderstand, the Volturi …– no, _all_ vampires need blood to survive. As long as they clean up their messes and leave no evidence behind that could expose their kind, The Volturi could care less what you do. As for your question, the Volturi's methods of ensnaring their meals are very discreet." Emilia explained.

Then, the light bulb turned on in my head. It all made sense. Their method was the dangerously beautiful woman, luring in tourists for a 'tour'. Then they would be lured into the castle – where the vampires could do whatever they wanted with those unfortunate souls.

Lilith let out a huge gasp; her eyes held shock and what I assumed was the same realization.

"So...we were actually going to be…f-food for…vampires?" Lilith cried a little bit too loudly. In a split second, Emilia was in front of Lilith with one hand covering Lilith's mouth. I gawked at how quickly Emilia managed to get in front of Lilith. She was literally a _blur._

"Quiet! You know too much already, do you really want to let the whole world know such creatures exist?" Emilia hissed sharply. She slowly took her hand away from Lilith's mouth, and Lilith muttered a timid, quiet apology.

Emilia returned to her seat and resumed her explanation. "Nevertheless, The Volturi _know _you two have escaped, and I doubt their twiddling their sitting around twiddling their thumbs right now. They're most likely sending their guards to find you and _get rid of you."_

I felt my stomach churn with dread. And judging by the sharp intakes of breath Lilith was taking besides me, I knew she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"_Relax;_ we're too far away for them to track. You did not happen to encounter a specific male there, have you?" Emilia quizzed.

"N-n-no… just two females….one was the tour guide and the other was…a receptionist?" Lilith described stumbling over her words.

"You are in luck. They happen to have… a very talented tracker amongst their ranks. His name is Demetri I believe. You see, some vampires, when transformed into what they are, are gifted with special abilities. Emilia explained, as if she was giving us a whole lesson on Vampire 101.

"…did that woman have a gift?" Lilith uneasily asked.

"I don't know very much about the Volturi other than what I have told you. But yes. Her name is Heidi, by the way. She has the gift of attraction. She is so physically alluring that it is difficult for humans of any gender, or even vampires to resist her requests and invitations. In a way, she's like a magnet for food. I'm rather surprised that you two even realized you were being lead into their home." Emilia said, her eyes flickering between the both of us. As she said the last part of that sentence, her eyes rested on me for more than the usual few seconds, as if she was trying to figure something out.

Suddenly, all the lights went off, the only source of luminance was the large, bright full moon outside.

I sat up in alarm, and so did Lilith. We scooted closer to each other, and looked around in fright.

Emilia stood up brusquely, and slowly scanned the area around us with her sharp eyes.

"Wha…what's happening? A black out?" I asked frightfully. I could feel my body begin to tremble with fear. I was absolutely terrified of the dark, and I held onto Lilith even tighter.

I looked around the room, and to my surprise, I had failed to notice that we were the only ones in the vicinity. I couldn't hear any whispers or movement other than ours. The place was deserted and that fact alone was strange. In my whole life, I had never seen an empty airport. It was like a foreshadowing – that something dangerous was lurking near us. I felt nauseous as fear gripped my accelerating heart.

Emilia noticed my discomfort. "Alvira! Breath, we're going to be alright. It's just a blackout. Not the first time it's happened in an airport, trust me." She reassured, but the lights didn't seem to be coming back anytime soon.

I started inhaling and exhaling. It didn't do much to calm my racing heartbeat, but I didn't feel as nauseous anymore. I was glad that in a half an hour or so, when the power would hopefully be back on, we would be boarding the plane to Washington and away from Italy. And I wouldn't come back no matter what.

I then heard two pairs of footsteps striding towards us. I looked towards the direction it was coming from. I heard the jingling of keys and in the dark; I could make out two figures in police uniforms. One was slimmer than the other, wearing a rather tight fitting uniform that flaunted her natural body shape that seemed to resemble Heidi's underneath the red top she wore in Volterra. I shuddered at the memory of that terrifying woman.

I saw Emilia's shadow step in front of us protectively, and the two guards stopped right in front of her. They started conversing in Italian, the conversation sounded harsh and urgent as their voices started getting louder in volume.

Lilith leaned towards my ear and whispered, "Al, I have a really bad feeling about those two…"

"Me too…" I replied, eyeing the two uniformed figures with wary suspicion.

The conversation then stopped, and as if on cue, the lights popped back on revealing the two officers. I looked pass Emilia's protective stance to scrutinize our new company. As I suspected, one was female and the other was male, his height just barely loomed over Emilia's tall frame. They both adorned police hats on their heads, covering most of their face. Their skin was almost as pale as their white uniforms, blending in with each other.

The female tilted her head towards me. A sly smirk formed on her full lips, and she lifted her hat. My eyes widened, alarm bells sounding in my head. In front of Emilia, there stood the woman that almost lured us to our death; Heidi.

I abruptly stood up, and started backing up along with Lilith. Heidi's unnatural violet shaded eyes followed our movement with a hint of amusement.

The man beside her had also taken off his cap. He had light, brown hair that was cut short, and slightly resembled a fohawk. He had brown eyes that had a bit of red peeking out around the edges of his pupil. He had a polite smile that held a bit of amusement, and his eyes held arrogance.

Then as if someone pushed the fast forward button to a movie, the three started moving at abnormal speeds. Everything was a blur, and in two seconds everything went still. The man had Emilia on the floor, securing her hands behind her back.

Heidi had somehow gotten behind us and her cold hands were clamped around mine and Lilith's elbows.

"I'm surprised. I was rather eager to be presented with at least _some _difficulty in tracking you. But it took no effort at all to find you here." The man mused, with Emilia still pinned down.

'_Vampires'_ I thought to myself fearfully. They all shared the same pale skin, and extreme speed.

"You two won't be getting away from me again, _I'll make sure of it." _Heidi said calmly, but the calmness failed to mask the hint of menace in her begrudgingly lovely voice.

"Now why don't we settle this like civilized…_beings_ shall we?" Heidi asked, clearly directing the question at Emilia. "Just hand over these two lovely young ladies without committing to any…_violence, _and we will leave you well on your way." Heidi compromised, her violet eyes fixed directly at Emilia.

"Tsk, Heidi you should be ashamed of yourself. Did you not _hear _this one?" The man playfully reprimanded, gesturing at Emilia, powerless on the ground underneath his grip.

"She was spilling all of our secrets out to those two as if it were something you tell on a daily basis. She puts us all at risk of being uncovered. We're bringing her along with those two to Aro." The man stated with finality.

Heidi chuckled. "Yes, your right Demetri. How could I have been so foolish? My apologies," Heidi said, mock sympathy clearly evident in her voice. "But you should be honored, not many get the privilege to be in the throne room on _speaking terms_ with Aro." Heidi stated to Emilia with an arrogant grin.

Emilia's eyes narrowed coldly at Heidi. "How did you manage to get past all the humans and the _security cameras_!" Emilia hissed, hatred shining in her eyes.

Heidi gave an arrogant smile, "I have a way of… persuading people. I gathered uniforms for Demetri and I and before your arrival. I instructed those frail humans in the control room to give an announcement with orders to evacuate this specific gate so we could fix some _technical difficulties_. They certainly couldn't resist my charm, and I specifically allowed only you three accesses and turned off the security cameras in this corner. Demetri also filled in any lose holes in our plan so no one questioned it. After today, it will be like nothing happened. And now, as you can see – we have the whole area to ourselves." Heidi explained, smiling. My eyes widened in shock at how powerful these people really were. They could take control of a whole airport with just a few words and disguises. I inwardly wondered if they could even sway the president into destroying countries.

Emilia clenched her jaw in anger, and she closed her eyes in defeat. Demetri pulled her back up from her position on the ground, his hands still gripping Emilia's behind her back.

"Shall we depart from here then, dearest Heidi?" Demetri asked politely.

"Yes, yes we shall." Heidi responded, and released my elbow to put her police hat back on. I quickly used this opportunity to bolt to the nearest exit. I didn't even make it five steps and I felt her cold, steel grip return to my now bruised elbow.

"I suggest you don't pull any funny business from now on, or else I _will_ stuff you in a _suitcase_." Heidi warned calmly in my ear. I instantly froze in fear at the threat. In any other situation, I would have deemed it humorous and gave a hearty laugh. But today wasn't a day for fun and jokes. I glared at her and she, with Demetri, proceeded to haul us out of the airport.

Many people gave us quizzical stares and I wondered why they weren't calling security. _Hello? _We were being hauled by evil vampires that were going to kill us once they had us back in their ancient home.

Then I realized that through the eyes of our spectators, we weren't the victims. And they also didn't know vampires such as the ones constraining us, existed. I then recalled that Heidi and Demetri were still wearing their officer uniforms. We looked like criminals, possibly responsible for the black-out that happened just moments ago. I then started recognizing repulsion in the ever increasing stares. I felt dread fill me, it was like we were being blackmailed. Never in my life had I broke the law, I was always on justice's side. But now, _justice_ didn't seem to be on my side.

A couple of other officers came up to Demetri and Heidi with looks of approval, and what I assumed was hearty words of praise in Italian. The officers threw me, Lilith and Emilia cold looks of disdain and disappointment. I clenched my teeth in anger, and forced myself to look at the floor. I didn't think I could contain myself if I saw another look of disgust thrown at me.

Heidi gave them a charming smile, and we were off on our way back to Volterra. In the corner of my eye, I could see silent tears running down Lilith's face, and she looked down as well, her red hair fell around her face like a shield.

We arrived out of the airport and started riding a private ferry. The man operating it had a dark grey cloak on, and greeted Demetri and Heidi with a wave.

"You're going to make Aro a bit _too_ happy. You brought a third one as well?" the man asked, amused

"Yes, this one has been found to be breaking the law. We'll dispose of her shortly after Aro gives us instruction on what to do with these two" Demetri replied, gesturing at Lilith and I.

The man with the cloak nodded, and proceeded to steer the ferry out of Venice.

We were going back to Volterra, the place me and Lilith despised and feared the most now. I looked back and watched as the city of Venice started getting smaller and smaller against the horizon until it was just a tiny, dot filled with sparkling lights. I looked forward and found that we were being led into a tunnel. Only darkness awaited us from here, and not even Emilia's sturdy aura could light up this darkness.

We were being lead to our death, and all I could do was brace myself mentally for what was to come.

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><p><strong>And there goes chapter 2! We have been introduced to Emilia and now their ALL going on a trip back to Volterra. <strong>

**I'm also basing the Volturi's appearances off of the movies, since I think Demetri and Alec are extremely good looking in the movies than in the books. Cuz in the books demetri's suppose to have long dark hair that waves to his shoulders lololol. Also Heidi isn't lookin all that bad either ;)**

**Let's find out what will happen to them in the next chapter, shall we? ;)**

**If you got criticism for my story or i'm doing something thats REALLLY ticking u off, then feel free to drop a review, i'm very open minded!. Oh and if you reallly like this story, than add this to alerts :)**

**Till next time - Snowbell3  
><strong>


	3. Cornered

**So sorry for the longer update! These last weeks...no JANUARY in general has been an extremely busy month. Been to two over night basketball tournaments in a row, and I had midterms!**

**Pheww, thank god its all over. I finally got this chapter finished. I probably won't take half as long to upload chapter 4. But anyways, here comes chapter 3!**

**DISCLAMER: I don't own any of these characters except for Alvira, Lilith and Emilia. Everything else Volturi related and twilight related belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Enjoy 3**

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><p>We had been drifting in the darkness for a while now. All that could be heard was the soft sighs of the water. The ferry was rather small – it wasn't those huge ones with all the windows and compartments. This one was like a canoe, with a roof. At the front, the man cloaked in dark grey was steadily rowing us through the dark tunnel. As we went deeper, the temperature dropped a few degrees and the air just seemed twice as eerie as it was before.<p>

There was no hope evident for me, Lilith or Emilia; no one would be able to find us in this lonely tunnel. It was like a secret passage. It was so obscured by rocks that no one would ever be able to spot it._ 'Unless you were a vampire' _my inner conscience mere thought of the word vampire sent cold shivers down my spine.

After a few more moments of the blackness and a fair bunch of turns in the tunnel, I finally saw a faint light that grew as we approached it. There, were not one, but several torches lined against the tunnel's decaying walls – lighting up the pathway. With the atmosphere now well lit, I took in my surroundings on the ferry. Lilith was right beside me, her expression sullen and gloomy. Both of our hands were chained with silver hand cuffs that clasped around my wrists almost painfully. The feeling was very foreign to me, for I had not committed any offenses as of yet. Neither did Lilith, unless she was hiding something from me…

Across from us sat Heidi and Demetri, still clad in their police uniforms. Occasionally they would look over at us and I would look towards the floor to avoid their penetrating gazes.

Beside Demetri was Emilia, with random strands of hair sticking out of her ponytail and her outfit ruffled and disheveled. But her appearance didn't hinder the resilient look in her eyes. Although all that was left of my courage was blown to dust by the Volturi servants, hers still held like a sturdy brick wall.

While I was trying to occupy myself with these observations, the fear running through my body demanded for my attention. There was no doubt that once we arrived, there would most likely be more of their race – licking their lips in anticipation for our blood.

Solid ground slowly started to come into view; a pleasant change from the waters that we treaded for what seemed to be hours on end. The ferryboat slowly came to a stop in front of it, and one by one we were lead onto the stable land. Heidi and Demetri hauled me and Lilith to shore, and the cloaked one forcefully towed Emilia off the ferry. He secured her hands behind her back with his large ones, and proceeded to trail behind us.

My knees almost gave way several times thanks to the fear pumping through my veins. Heidi would give my arm a rough jerk when this happened and I would stumble even more to regain my balance. Lilith, on the other hand, walked steadily with Demetri very close behind her. In spite of that, I saw dread written across her face.

After more stumbles and bruises, we made it to another set of large doors that roughly resembled the ones I saw on the tour. With one hand, Heidi opened one of them and we arrived in a corridor with ancient walls. More torches, similar to the ones in the tunnel, gave light to the passageway. I realized with dismay that we were back in the castle in Volterra. The tunnel was actually a secret passage, most likely for escaping or taking shortcuts.

After a few more turns in the seemingly endless and gloomy hallway, we came to a halt in front of more bulky doors. These ones held more elegance than the ones in the tunnel, and I realized this was where Lilith and I decided to abandon the tour. Heidi then proceeded to open the doors, and I was met with what seemed to be a large throne room.

Demetri ushered Lilith and I in, and we stood in the center of the large room. Demetri took off our hand cuffs and Heidi's icy grip on my wrist returned and with it, I felt horror.

In front of us were three thrones, possibly the only pieces of furniture in this magnificent but empty room. There, sat three men that were cloaked in black. All three had eyes that were as red as the blood they most likely drank just hours ago.

On the left sat a rather bored looking man. He had dark shoulder length hair that had a slight wave to it, and on his face was what seemed to be woe, weariness and a great deal of apathy. His eyes slowly rested on each of us, and then he went back to what seemed to be a deep grieving.

To the far right, was another man that had the complete polar opposite set of expressions. He had a deep scowl on his face, and appeared very angered by something. He peered at us with disgust, and I could tell he was clearly not amused with us.

And finally, in the middle of the two thrones, sat what seemed to be their leader. He had dark hair that rested on his shoulders, and he too shared the same pale skin as the rest of his companions. As soon as we arrived he stood from his throne with delight.

"Heidi, Demetri! You have returned!" he joyously exclaimed, clapping his hands together with glee. "And what do we have here…?" He looked over at us, and his eyes rested on Emilia curiously.

"Master Aro, we bring to you the two runaways that were not in the headcount you did of the bodies." Heidi explained while nudging me and Lilith forward. I stumbled slightly in front of him. I was scared stiff of this pale man in front of me that she called "Aro".

"Ah yes. The distinct silver eyes and red hair… I am rather astounded that even you, Heidi, have overlooked the absence of such distinguishing physical traits." Aro mused, a questioning smile on his face. Somehow, I had a feeling Heidi was staring hateful daggers at the backs of our heads.

"And here you bring another one of our kind! What a delightful surprise!" Aro addressed Emilia, a happy grin on his face. Emilia's hands were still strapped to her back by the cloaked ferry man, and she looked up at Aro with loathing.

"At ease Darius, I'm sure she does not mean any harm" Aro instructed softly, his eyes never leaving Emilia's. Darius reluctantly released his grip on Emilia's arms, but still kept a close distance to her. Aro tilted his head to the side quizzically at Emilia.

"I believe we have not met before. What purpose did Heidi and Demetri have, bringing you here?" Aro asked, staring intently at Emilia.

"Master, this woman was revealing information of our kind to those two humans." Demetri spoke, frowning at Emilia.

Aro's eyes widened with surprise. "And why my dear, would you do such a thing?" Aro probed, a small edge was now evident in Aro's cheerful voice.

"I am not obligated to tell you _anything._" Emilia hissed. Aro let out a soft chuckle and his hand reached towards Emilia. She took a small step back. It wasn't because she was afraid, but her action resembled that of slowly backing out of something dangerous.

Darius held her in place, and Aro's hand reached towards Emilia's pale cheek.

"Hold up!" The angry blond on the throne barked, annoyance evident in his voice. "Just _what_ may I ask, intrigues you so, Aro? These humans clearly only differ from the others in physical appearance. I fail to see what you see. They look no different than the same useless appalling mortals we fed on just the other day" He fumed. I jumped at the volume and anger of his voice.

"Patience, my brother Caius, I was just about to address that." Aro replied back, and as if forgetting about Emilia; he withdrew his hand and now showered his full attention on Lilith and me.

"Heidi's gift is quite powerful against human beings. Even woman who do not wish to abide by her requests cannot resist her charm. But these two… I sense a gift of resistance against other gifts perhaps?" Aro explained, his eyes scrutinizing us two.

He reached over to me and gently grabbed my hand. He stared at it clasped between his for a few seconds and his gaze returned to my face quizzically.

"Strange...I read nothing. Your mind has denied me of access…interesting." Aro said gleefully. He then did the same to Lilith, but this time he held onto her hand longer. His eyes widened in amusement.

"But your mind, however is open….so it seems that our young friend Alvira was the one who realized they were under Heidi's spell. Brilliant!" He exclaimed, letting go of Lilith's hand.

I eyes widened when he said my name. What was happening while he was holding our hands? I shuddered at the thought of what they would do with us next. If I had a possible 'gift' and Lilith didn't…What would happen to her?

Aro then fixed his gaze on Emilia. "So my dearest Emilia, it seems that you are guilty of breaking the Volturi Law by informing these two of our existence." Aro said calmly.

"I only did it because I knew your two guards would reach us quite soon. So I simply saved you the trouble of explaining to them." Emilia replied, still glaring holes through Aro's head.

He smiled regretfully. "As convenient as that is for us, you are nevertheless in the wrong for breaking our laws. Such a shame…. you seem to show such promise judging from that look in your eyes. Perhaps we shall fetch Alec to provide you with a painless passing? "

"_No_ thank you. I have no desire to skirmish with one of the witch twins." Emilia responded in a cold voice.

I then found myself being held by two hands in a protective manner. I frightfully turned my head and to my relief, I saw that it was Emilia holding me in her cold embrace.

I averted my eyes back to where Aro stood, and I found not one, but three Emilia's. I looked around in confused. I was positive it was most likely the fear that caused me to hallucinate three more images, but as I saw the Emilia behind Demetri knock him across the room, I knew these were no fakes.

I was too caught up in shock and bewilderment to speak. I saw Aro's eyes widen in surprise, and Demetri hastily got up. He snarled at one of the duplicates, and sprang towards her. I saw a third Emilia come up behind Aro to do the same as her clone did to Demetri. But Aro turned around swiftly and lunged for her. Emilia sprang back and landed gracefully on her feet. I noticed that her hands were clad with black leather gloves.

Everything happened in a blur, I was so focused on the action in front of me that I didn't notice I was being hauled out of the room by an Emilia. Lilith was following suite, with another Emilia behind her. I then did a mental slap to myself because I _just_ realized one fact I should have comprehended a while ago. Emilia was a vampire, and one with a gift.

Emilia didn't give me much time to ponder on my thoughts as she threw me over her shoulder and started dashing out of the throne room. She bounded out of the room at such a high speed that even Olympic gold medalists could not even dream to compete with it. I was getting nauseous at the sudden haste, and everything around us was so blurry that I closed my eyes.

After counting to ten, I opened my eyes and to my relief I found that we were out of the dreaded castle. The downside was that we had arrived at a deserted place with no signs of people. Emilia had released her hold on me and I was on the ground, taking deep breaths. On my left Lilith was throwing up into a trash can, with another Emilia brushing the hair out of her face. I turned my body around to face Emilia number one. My mind was full of questions that needed to be answered _right now._

"Can you please explain to me what's going on? _You're a_ vampire, and with a gift to boot!" I exclaimed, using hand gestures for emphasis.

Emilia looked genuinely surprised, a rare sight for she always knew everything. "I supposed you would have figured it out by now. But then again, we don't think on the same… _frequency_ let's say." Emilia replied, a slight smile on her face.

"And yes, I am indeed gifted with the ability to create duplicates of myself. They think like me, look like me, and obey me." Emilia explained, and I gawked at her in wonder. Lilith had shakily taken a seat next to me, her skin sickly pale. I cast a worried glance at her, wondering if she was okay. The Emilia behind her was rubbing her back soothingly, all the while silently listening to our conversation.

"But…what about the Emilia's that are fighting those people? How will you know how they are doing?" I asked fixedly.

"I can hear what they are thinking, seeing, and hearing. Since I am the central link, they obey my every command. At the moment, my clones are being overwhelmed. They won't be able to hold for long, and soon they will send Demetri after us." Emilia explained, deep in thought.

"How much control do you have over them? Do they get destroyed like normal vampires or… do they just go poof?" I asked lamely.

Emilia chuckled. "They will only disappear if I want them to. Otherwise, yes, they do get defeated in the same manner as the rest of our species. The only way to destroy a vampire is to tear their limbs so they are immobile, and then set their remains on fire." Said Emilia.

I stared at her with a look of awe on my face. With that information processing in my brain, I felt even more safe and reassured with her gift and strength. I didn't think the Volturi stood a chance against her and her many duplicates.

"We must go now; my clones won't be able to fight for much longer. They have called Jane and Alec into the throne room. " Emilia said, and I thought I saw a flash of pain in her eyes.

"Who are Alec and Jane?" I asked, curious.

The look on Emilia's face darkened. "Two of the Volturi's most treasured assets. They have very powerful gifts, probably one of the most powerful in the world. They're twins; Alec has the ability to cut off senses. However, Jane has the ability to make you feel the most _crucifying_ pain you will ever experience." I noticed she seemed to especially loathe this Jane.

The ability to feel pain and nothing… I had to admit I was a tiny bit intrigued. But that didn't hide the fact that I felt fear and distress because of those two's gifts. I dreaded the thought of being on the receiving end of Jane's horrifying gift.

Beside me, Lilith was as still as a rock. Thought she looked like she was dead to the world, I could tell she was trying to interpret the information. When Lilith was happy, she was very happy. But when she was sad, she was miserable and downright blue. But now, her face was impassive, and I could tell that thanks to all the negative emotions that had tackled her, she was suffering under that front.

I moved closer to her. "Lilith are you okay?" I asked slowly.

"It's…too much. Too much for me to handle… how am I…no…we…how are we supposed to live on like this? Even Emilia said that they had a tracker that could track us anywhere in the world…" Lilith sobbed; strong emotion was suddenly breaking through her mask.

It then occurred to me that Lilith wasn't overreacting. She just realized all this sooner than I did. But I knew that it would have crossed my mind sooner or later. If Demetri was going to hunt us like no tomorrow, then how could we even have the determination to walk five steps? We would have to keep running and running and running…

I could feel the resolve slipping out of me, and replacing it was anxiety and dismay. Both were emotions that I had gotten used to these past few days. They seemed to have made a home in the dark I longed to be happy and ignorant of the other species that co-existed with us.

"We must go now. I'm withdrawing my clones, for Caius is preparing a fire. They have no yet sent Demetri but we have a head start." Emilia informed. She looked as if she was reading out of thin air.

Within a few moments two more Emilia's appeared. One supported Lilith while the other made no effort to move from its spot. I followed the real Emilia's lead, and took a glance back at the other clone that decided to stay rooted to its position.

"I have stationed one here to stall Demetri should he be dispatched. We're going to head to Washington by private means of transportation" Emilia spoke, the professional tone returning to her voice.

I nodded and proceeded to trail behind Emilia, following her rapid footsteps. I was exhausted and in intense fatigue. It didn't take long for my legs to crumble beneath me, and I fell to my knees.

Emilia and Lilith turned around. Lilith had a concerned look on her face and she hurried over to me.

"Alvira you ok?" Lilith asked frantically. She offered me a hand that I gladly took with my shaky one, but I ended up sinking back to the floor.

"I'm fine…really." I said, trying to sound reassuring but my legs hinted otherwise.

"Here, let me carry you" Emilia offered.

"No I'm fine, I wouldn't want to hinder your speed" I protested.

Emilia gave an amused smile, and laughed softly. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm a vampire. Vampires don't get tired." Emilia retorted, and I gave a sheepish smile at my lack of knowledge for their kind.

She hoisted me on top of her back and we continued to make our way out of Volterra. I looked around warily, taking in my surroundings. The streets were empty because of the night sky. We made it halfway across the city and I finally decided to ask a question that made me extremely anxious.

"Emilia, do you know if Demetri is coming for us yet or not?" I asked warily. She tilted her head to look at me. "The mind link has been lost so I don't have a clue. Chances are, he's probably following us as we speak." Emilia said ruefully. I warily cast nervous glances around us, fearing that Demetri would appear out of nowhere and take us back to the confines of their lair.

We finally arrived at the edge of the city, and I looked across the horizon. Home was so far away… and even if I did go home right now, I would put my parents at risk of the same thing. Mom…Dad… I wonder how they were doing right now. Once they found out that we didn't arrive in Washington at the designated time, they would be very concerned and anxious.

Despite it being this late at night, there was still one lone water taxi that didn't seem to be packing its things anytime soon. We made our way towards it, and we were greeted by a man with a huge frame. He wore a dark grey cloak that was buttoned up halfway, and he was most likely over 6'0.

His mere presence intimidated me; he looked like he could rip us all to shreds in mere seconds. I could hardly see his face, for it was covered by his grey hood and he was looking down at the waters with an oar in hand. Emilia seemed to tense and her grip on me tightened just a smidge. I held onto her even tighter. I had a really bad feeling about this guy.

"Looking for a ride?" He inquired casually; his voice was deep and rough with a hint of playfulness in it. All the while it had a smooth quality to it.

Emilia surprised me when she backed up cautiously., and Lilith backed up behind her, following her action hesitantly.

"Emilia what are you –"I was cut off when the man finally looked up, revealing blood red eyes and pale skin. My eyes widened in shock and disbelief. These guys were _everywhere! _

Another Emilia appeared and lifted Lilith up on her back. We sprinted to the opposite direction but then we came to an abrupt halt. I felt my insides well up in dread.

Standing there casually blocking our way was Demetri with his arrogance prominent on his face. I looked behind me, and the huge man from earlier blocked our only other way out. I then noticed a boy was standing next to Demetri, and what he gripped in his hands made my stomach turn with nauseous terror. In his hand was the head of the other Emilia that was stationed to buy us time from Demetri. Lilith's piercing scream filled the air, and mine followed shortly.

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><p><strong>Yes I did say Alec would be in this chapter but he will have more story time in the next one! <strong>

**The next update will come soon, but while ur waiting, why dont u drop a review so I know what you think? *wink wink***

**-Snowbell 3**


	4. I Dreamed a Little Dream

**Ahh finally! It took me awhile toget this chapter out lol and its one of those long ones!**

**Thanks so much for all the reviews and alerts u guys! I start literally jumping with joy when I see a fanfiction email in my inbox lololol (yes i know i'm a loser ._.) **

**My sincere apologies that Alec only had like one sentence in the last chapter. This chapter he has more, and he'll have EVEN more in the next one!**

**The romance will be coming I swear, but I have to get Alvira all settled in first before any sparks start flying!**

**Well heres chapter 4, READ ON!.**

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><p>My throat ached from screaming, and my heart was most likely tired of pumping 100 kilometers an hour. My body was shaking madly, and my brain was unable to keep up with everything that was happening at this moment.<p>

I could feel myself slowly slipping off of Emilia's back, for her grip had slackened so much that it became extremely loose. I landed on the ground with an audible thud and looked up at Emilia. Her back was turned to me, but she had not moved an inch. She just stood there completely still, motionless. I didn't have the courage to crawl around her to see her face, because Demetri and that boy with Emilia number two's head frightened me to no end.

"E-Emilia?" my voice croaked. If anything happened to Emilia then that was it. We were doomed, because she was our only ray of hope. Emilia still remained motionless and did not reply, as if she didn't hear me.

"Don't even bother; she's not even conscious in this world anymore." Demetri stated. My eyes slowly moved towards him. He was no longer wearing the security uniform. Instead, he adorned what seemed to be the Volturi'_s _attire. A dark grey cloak that was a shade darker than the one the man from the water taxi wore. Around his neck was a gold chain that hung the shiny letter V.

Behind me, I could hear the bulky-framed man chuckle lowly. I had forgotten he was behind me, and the reminder of his presence didn't reassure me one bit.

"Wha-What did you do to Emilia?" I stuttered, trying my absolute best to be brave. But even I could hear the fear that lurked in my scratchy voice, and I could tell Demetri did too because he chuckled slightly.

"At ease, girl. Alec here has simply numbed her senses. We'll return them once you and your friend are nice and…_cozy_ in the confines of our home. Meanwhile, Aro wishes to have a chat with that one." Spoke Demetri, referring to Emilia. I don't think I was going to like their idea of cozy.

Alec… so that was the name of the boy next to him, and he was one of the witch twins Emilia talked about. I took a very brief moment to glance at him. He was no doubt, extremely handsome and looked to be about my age. He had brown hair that looked indescribably soft. His eyes were colored crimson and his skin was flawless and smooth like marble. He was looking back at me with a pinch of curiosity, but it was quickly replaced with an uninterested stare.

"So it is these two that have been causing such a ruckus at home? Pity, I was expecting more of a challenge...not two frail humans and a foolish vampire." Alec said with disappointment in his voice. His voice was like chocolate, smooth and delicious. I mentally slapped myself for fawning over the enemy, especially one that just insulted me, Lilith and Emilia.

"Then again Alec, when was the last time you did have a proper challenge?" Jested the tall man behind me, his deep voice echoing across the street. Alec smirked. "Of course Felix, you're correct. Nothing has ever bested me or my sister's talents, not even the Romanians."

I wasn't given any time to think of who the Romanians were to them, because not even a split second later, Felix had closed the distance between us and gripped my arm.

I winced, if I thought Heidi had a strong grip, than I was severely mistaken. Felix's hold was robust, and he held on tight, _really_ tight. I would be amazed if my arms weren't full of fresh bruises.

Alec lazily tossed the Emilia head over to the wall, and it shattered into pieces. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was just a failed sculpture of some sort. I looked at it nervously and forced myself to avert my eyes from the horrid sight of Emilia's shattered head.

"Actually, you might want to carry this one instead? She's much heavier, and I'm sure you would probably scare that poor little human to death before Aro gets to her" said Demetri. He and Felix shared a quick chuckle as they switched positions. I thanked the stars for Demetri's request. His grip was still strong, but not half as sturdy as Felix's constricting grasp.

I glanced around nervously. I knew what their next intent was – to bring us back to their den. At this rate, I would of chose just being fed on by Aro or any of their horrifying species. But now I had to come back for round 3, and this time, I dreaded the thought of what they were actually going to do with us.

Lilith had been surprisingly quiet, so I looked over to see what was causing her silence. My eyes widened, her whole body was frozen in a similar manner to Emilia's. Except this time, I could see her face and it held a blank look. Her eyes were unseeing, and her face was expressionless. Like had died with her eyes opened, and I started panicking. Alec had used his gift on her, and I was probably next in line for a sampling.

Alec seemed to notice my discomfort, and rolled his eyes lazily. "She was being too noisy. People would undoubtedly check their windows if they heard a girl screaming _that_ loudly and continuously." He scoffed, and tossed Lilith over his shoulder effortlessly. I saw Felix proceed to do the same with the frozen Emilia, and then I felt myself being lifted off the ground. Demetri had thrown me harshly on his rough shoulder, which poked at my stomach like a rock. Then, suddenly everything was a blur around me. I got a feeling similar to one of adrenaline when you were on a rollercoaster.

As soon as it started, it ended just as quickly. The scenario had changed drastically and I was met with the familiar gloomy atmosphere of their vampire castle. Demetri set me back on my feet, and I looked around.

We were back in the throne room, and there greeting us was a joyful Aro, the gloomy man on the left who's name I had failed to catch, and a non-too pleased looking Caius on the right.

"Aro, I suggest we _burn_ that horrid excuse of a vampire! She has rudely attacked us and Afton almost lost an arm." Caius protested angrily.

"At ease Caius, at ease, we cannot let such a convenient talent slip through our fingers. Think of the wondrous strategies we will be to perform with Emilia at our arsenal…" Aro reproached a small giddiness in his light voice.

Despite his old appearance, his persona reminded me of myself and Lilith when we were younger and visiting Paris for the first time. The trip was a surprise Christmas present from both of our parents, and we had literally jumped with excitement the minute we landed there from our plane. My heart wrenched at the fact that me and Lilith would have to discontinue the trip we planned there earlier this week.

"And here we are again with Alvira and Lilith…Alec; you may give Lilith her senses back." Aro directed, and within seconds I saw the light come back in Lilith's eyes. She looked around frantically, her breaths coming in short bursts. I looked at her nervously.

Aro frowned. "I apologize if you find us intimidating. We mean no harm I assure you, and from here on forth I will do whatever I can to ensure you a comfortable stay." Aro said gently, most likely an attempt to relax Lilith, who was trying her hardest to compose herself.. I almost relaxed at his words, but then I remembered all those innocent tourists they had for dinner, and returned to staring coldly at him.

Aro then made his way over to Emilia, eager to get to her first, and pulled her hand into his. A few moments passed of eager silence. Caius looked like he was about to leap out of his seat and rip Emilia's head off at any moment, and the one on the left stayed apathetic.

"Utterly fascinating, to be able to create so many copies of one's self and outnumber the enemy like that… it won't be very difficult to convince her to join us. She is a nomad that works among human ranks." Aro explained, and grinned happily, "I'm sure if we have Chelsea do a tiny bit of tweaking, dearest Emilia will be amongst our ranks fairly soon." Aro affirmed. I briefly wondered who Chelsea was, and what Aro meant by 'tweaking'. A silly image of a girl in a lab coat standing over Emilia with scissors appeared in my head, and I shook off the image, paying attention to the matter at hand.

"And we're just going to let her crime _slip?_ " Caius barked furiously.

Aro laughed. "I'm sure we can pardon her offense. I have looked through her mind, and she had no intention to break our law. It seems everything was all neatly planned out to get herself into our home, and strike us when we least expected it." Aro explained.

I stood up straighter at Emilia's intention. She had cleverly planned everything out, and she probably wasn't hired by my dad by chance. All of her actions had a reason, and for all I know, this right now could be another plan. Even Caius had a hint of begrudging defeat in his glaring eyes. I looked over at Emilia in hope, but she was still as motionless as a statue with no expression. The little hope I had was diminished at the sight.

"We shall continue with our discussion tomorrow; they've had enough surprises for today, and I wouldn't want them to suddenly pass out with fatigue. I'm sure Alvira and Lilith will need a good night's rest to observe all the information we will be giving them tomorrow." Aro said delightedly.

"Heidi, why don't you escort Lilith and Alvira to their separate rooms? Demetri and Felix shall make arrangements for Emilia" Aro ordered calmly. Felix walked out the door first, with Demetri following behind closely. Heidi gestured for Lilith and I to follow her, and we complied, following her tentatively. I was happy that she wasn't going to lay her icy grip on my arms anymore.

Heidi led us to a door that seemed no different than the other doors that were placed along the corridor. She opened it and ushered me forward. Lilith made an attempt to enter the room, but Heidi stopped her with an arm. "You're going to be in a different room. Aro doesn't want you two together in the same room alone. I will come back for you in the morning." And with that, Heidi closed the door. Lilith shot me a nervous glance as the doors shut, separating us both.

A mixture of emotions flooded me within that second, sadness, grief, relief, and emptiness. I stared at the close doors blankly, and I sank to the floor- tears spilling down my cheeks that I had tried my best to hold back throughout the whole encounter. I was physically and emotionally exhausted.

I looked around the room to see what I would have to face every day for what was going to be my whole life. My vision was blurred by the tears, but I managed to make out a large, double poster bed that rested against the wall with pure white sheets. I saw a door to my left which, I assumed, led to a walk-in closet. There was a white colored vanity and a dresser right next to it. I slowly picked myself up to look around and get a better view of everything.

The walls were a slight pink color and some white carpets adorned the shiny wooden floor. I opened a door and peeked inside. It was a bathroom, with a very modern looking shower. I turned on the light and looked in my reflection. It had been hours since I last saw it, and I looked disheveled if anything. My hair stuck out at random angles, possibly from all the fleeing. I lifted up my sleeves and my eyes widened. They were full of purple bruises from when Felix, Demetri and Heidi grasped my arm. I touched them gently and winced at the pain.

A wave of fatigue washed over me, and I auto piloted to the bed, which invited me ever so warmly to its sheets. I took off my shoes and socks and rested my head on its comfy pillows. Though Aro and everyone else in the Volturi scared me, at least they had nice accommodations. I could feel sleep creeping up my brain, and already it was getting harder to think. I wondered how my parents were doing and if they were in their bed right now, thinking of me as well.

But wait, if Emilia was a vampire, did my dad know this when he hired her? Or was my dad just as ignorant was I was before I entered the Volturi castle for the first time? So many questions…but I couldn't find the answers to them. I felt my eye lids grow heavier, so I shut my eyes and surrendered to sleep. I vaguely wondered if Lilith was just as wary as I was before I drifted off.

_I was gliding across a meadow. Flowers and the dewy green grass greeted me with every step that held a gracefulness I never knew I had. The sun shone onto me, and my skin started to sparkle. I gazed at it questioningly and in awe. The sparkles made reflections on the grass, and its brilliant shine captivated me. I was so busy staring at my hand that I didn't notice a shadow creeping towards me. I was thrown across the meadow, and I landed on one of the many flowers. I quickly got up, my reflexes heightened. I turned around and to my surprise, there stood an equally as glittery Lilith. She had a playful smile on her face and I grinned. I started charging towards her and she went into a ready stance. I was getting closer and closer to her and then I ran right into an invisible barrier. I felt the space in front of me with my pale hands, and it looked as if I was doing one of those mimes._

_Lilith, shocked, ran towards me hurriedly. She was in front of me in a split second and she too ran into the unseen barricade. I tried breaking it with my strong fists, but they didn't seem to be doing any damage to the sturdy wall. _

_I then saw the huge shadow of Felix behind her, stalking up and ready to strike. I shouted for her to run and pounded my fist onto the invisible barrier. _

_She tilted her head to the side quizzically, and I realized that my exclamation fell onto deaf ears. We couldn't hear each other, and Felix was getting closer and closer. Lilith seemed to be frantically trying to get me to notice something, and then realization clicked in both of us. We mirrored each other's movements, our heads slowly turning to see what was behind us. _

_I was met with the sight of Demetri, his hand raised about to strike me. I couldn't move, the dream rooted my feet to the ground. I started panicking, and as Demetri's hand slowly came down to claw at me, the scene changed. _

_I was in a blank room; in front of me was a tall, simple mirror. But what it reflected back was what caught my attention. The being within the mirror took my breath away -she was so beautiful. Her eyes shone captivating deep silver that almost seemed to have reflections in them. Her hair was rich in dark color and formed in lovely waves that ended above her stomach. She had flawless skin that was pale in color, but nonetheless still beautiful. I took a step towards her and she did the same, her white dress flowed behind her. She smiled at me, her perfect pink lips curling upwards. I gazed in wonder at this girl and pondered about who she was. I reached out to touch the reflection and as my fingertips grazed the smooth glass, it shattered to tiny pieces on the floor._

I woke up with a jolt, and realized it was all a dream. It was so peculiar; I didn't even feel like myself while I was in that dream. I pondered about my glittery skin in that dream, and then I remembered the mirror. I knew broken mirrors were a bad omen, but I still wondered about that beautiful reflection.

I then heard the handle on the door twist, and Heidi emerged from behind the door. Today, she was wearing a black blouse and a pencil skirt that highlighted her curves, reminding me of a sophisticated teacher.

"Oh good, looks like I won't have to go through the trouble of waking you up -Humans can be so hard to rouse sometimes." Heidi commented, casually walking towards the walk-in closet. I have forgotten to explore my new closet, but I doubted there were any clothes in there. I was surprised when I heard the sound of hangers being pulled out, and the ruffling of some clothes. Heidi then came out with a large article of clothing strung on her arm, and in her hands were a set of brown sandals. She laid out a elegant cream colored dress on my bed, and I gazed at it, stunned.

Heidi chuckled. "Judging from your background, I would assume that pretty clothes weren't a surprise for you."

"How did you…"

"Aro told me. Your family is as wealthy as ever, and Aro requested that we treat you no less than that, and with utmost…_delicacy. _Especially your friend next door, she's still blubbering." Heidi explained calmly.

"Lilith? Is she ok?" I asked, eager to know about my friend that was, at the moment, seemingly unstable emotionally,

"She's fine, I checked up on her first before I got to you. Get changed, that's your outfit for today. I'll help you with your hair, and your face may need just a bit of touching up…" Heidi mused, and went into the bathroom to collect some beauty products. I was surprised by her sudden hospitality. Just yesterday she was holding my arm in a death grip, threatening to stuff me into a suitcase, and now she was calmly offering to do my makeup. Maybe being bipolar was another trait that came within the vampire package.

I decided not to think too much about it and accept the fact that I would probably have to face her every day, and I might as well try my best to get along with her. It wouldn't change my extreme loathing for her, but I'd have to stuff my hatred in the back of my head. ..at least for the time being.

I quickly stripped off my clothing, throwing them into a basket that rested next to my bed. I slipped on the dress and walked over to the mirror.

I had to admit, Heidi really did know how to pick out clothing. The dress reached my knees, and was made of soft material. The outstretched part of the dress was in a few thin layers of different types of fabrics, but it didn't look bulky at all. The dress hugged my body snugly, and the two thick straps at the top held it in place on my shoulders. The only thing was the bruises that adorned my arms, but they were slowly fading away.

Heidi came out of the bathroom with a small makeup bag and some accessories. She beckoned me over to the vanity table and sat me down on the white colored seat. She ran a comb through my naturally wavy hair, and put some mascara on my dark lashes.

After a bit more foundation and cover up for my bruises, Heidi picked up a golden necklace with a small heart shaped locket that hung on the chain. It was simple but it complimented my dress nicely. She put the cold metal around my neck, and then scrutinized my reflection. Her makeup expertise was flawless, the bruises on my arms had disappeared and my face shone with a healthy glow.

"Your eyes…they're an extraordinary color. I've never seen a human with _silver_ eyes before." Heidi remarked, gazing at my reflection behind me approvingly. Was that a bit of envy I heard in her voice?

I forced a smile. "It's the only feature that really makes me…_me._" I explained, unable to find the right word.

I thought I saw sympathy in Heidi's eyes, and even regret. "It's such a shame that they'll…" But she stopped herself in mid-sentence. "It's nothing." She uttered. I gave her a questioning glance. I had a horrible feeling that what she said hinted to something that was going to happen to the color of my eyes.

Heidi fetched my shoes, and I slid my feet into them. She then led me out to the corridor, and knocked on a door. Lilith opened it slightly and timidly, her eyes red and puffy from all the crying. Not even Heidi's immaculate makeup could tone down the puffiness. She wore a denim jacket with a brown top underneath, paired with blue jeans and sandals similar to mine. Heidi sighed exasperatedly. "I told you to stop your crying, you just ruined your mascara!"

Lilith winced an apology, but as her swollen eyes rested on me, she seemed to calm down. She gave me a shaky smile, a sign that she was trying to reassure me. But I knew that she was the one that needed the reassuring in this situation. She stepped out of the doorway and gently closed the door behind her, and we proceeded to follow Heidi back into the throne room. Heidi opened the door for us, and we stepped in slowly. As usual, the three vampire kings sat on their thrones. To my surprise, Emilia was standing next to Caius, along with another girl.

She shared the same vampire beauty as Emilia and Heidi. Marble skin, blood red eyes (Except Emilia's eyes were a golden color.), and her long brown hair rested on her shoulders. She was petite, but she had an hourglass figure that made her all the more striking.

Aro rose from his throne, and strode over to us enthusiastically.

"Good morning my lovely young ladies, have you slumbered well?" Aro inquired with his usual happy smile.

"Yes we have, thank you for asking" I said in a formal voice, not wanting to sound childish.

"There is someone I would like you to meet today. Chelsea?" Aro gestured for the petite girl to come over, and within a few graceful steps, she was in front of us beside Aro. She gave us each a warm smile.

"Chelsea, this is Alvira, and this here is Lilith." Aro introduced, and Chelsea's scarlet eyes swept across us as Aro said our names. She looked at Lilith for a brief moment, her eyes fixed on her in a neutral stare. Lilith stared back for a moment, and then her face broke into a happy grin. '_That's new…'_ I thought, narrowing my eyes at Chelsea and Lilith. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lilith!" Lilith said, still smiling. How could Lilith be suddenly happy and introducing herself after all those tears and the fear she and I felt for these people?

Chelsea than moved her eyes towards me. She looked at me for a moment longer than Lilith, and her brow furrowed in concentration. She narrowed her eyes and turned to Aro, confused.

"Aro…" Chelsea began in her pealing voice, and Aro held out a hand. Chelsea took it without a moment's hesitation and Aro's eyebrows raised in inquisitiveness. "Interesting…." He mused quietly, and walked over to his throne, where his brothers rose to meet him. They started conversing in quick Italian, different expressions forming on every face. For once, the usually gloomy man had a different emotion on his face. Interest and curiosity took turns as he and Chelsea discussed something. Their eyes occasionally flickered over to me quizzically.

I turned to incredulously. "Lilith what happened to you? Why did your mood change like that all of a sudden?" I asked in a hushed voice. She looked at me as if I was crazy, her brows raising and her eyes appraising me with amusement. "Al, it's rude to not introduce yourself! Mom and dad always said we should present ourselves in a happy manner so they don't think we have any harsh feelings." She explained, as if I was a five year old.

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "But not moments ago you were just shaking with fear and…crying" I responded. Her eyes were still rimmed with red, and I could still see small streaks on her makeup from the tears, and I stared at the ground- breaking evidence that she did so have harsh feelings.

"It's just that…when I met Chelsea…she just calmed me down. I feel like I belong here, and this is where I should be. You should too Alvira! If you think about it, they're not half as bad as we thought they were. Heidi was extremely nice to me and I believe Aro will treat us well. _Really_ well." She said, as if reminiscing about long-time friends.

I gaped at her in disbelief. What did Chelsea do to her? Did she have a gift too? Lilith wasn't feeling the same anymore, and she, by some bizarre reason, thought she _belonged_ here, in a home of blood suckers. I felt my heart sink as the feeling of betrayal started edging in, even know something told me that Lilith was being brainwashed.

Emilia strolled over to us, her expression neutral. I couldn't see any negative emotions on her face, no resentment, no loathing. "How are you guys doing?" She questioned, her eyes moving back and forth between the both of us. Please tell me not Emilia too…

"Everything's great!" Lilith chirped, and gave Emilia a hug. I still looked at her uncertainly, everything _wasn't_ great. Emilia gently pulled herself out of the hug and looked at me. "And you, Alvira?" She asked, waiting for an answer.

I didn't know how to respond. "I'm feeling…ok I guess" I answered hesitantly. Emilia smiled, but there was something off about it… it looked forceful.

At that moment, everyone from the mini- group session dispersed, and Aro made his way over to us.

"Lilith, why don't you and Chelsea go take a small tour of our home? As for Alvira, I would like to have a small chat with you." Said Aro, and I had that dreaded feeling I was in trouble.

Chelsea walked over to Lilith, and together they exited the throne room. I was left alone with only Emilia as my other ally, who also seemed to be equally as brainwashed as Lilith. Aro gently took my hand, and he glided out of the room with me in tow. I looked back and shot Emilia a pleading glance, and gave me a reassuring smile. My heart welled up in dread. Even Emilia didn't seem like herself anymore.

Aro proceeded to lead me down the corridor, his icy hand still clasped around mine. He opened an elegant looking door, and inside was a library. Book and shelves lined the walls and were orientated in rows. I gazed in wonder at all the information and books that rested on the many shelves. I saw some red armchairs and sofas that were placed in a circular order around a glass coffee table, and Aro took a seat on one of the armchairs. I sat on the red sofa, which I found to be relatively comfy.

"You intrigue us all Alvira…" He spoke, his voice a soft sigh. I looked at him questioningly.

"So far, mine and Chelsea's gift have been ineffective on you. Marcus's gift has remained unaffected by you, but then again, his gift works more outward than inward..." He mused. I assumed 'Marcus' had to be his low-spirited brother.

"Yours and…Chelsea's gift?" I asked, keen on finding out what Chelsea's gift was.

"Forgive me, it has slipped my mind that you do not have any knowledge of mine or Chelsea's gift…" Aro apologized. "I have the ability to read your every thought, by just one touch. Chelsea's gift…well, you will find out soon enough." Aro said, a bit hesitantly. My shoulders slumped in disappointment at Aro choosing to leave Chelsea's gift in the dark.

"Such a convenient trait to have, being resistant to our gifts …I wonder how it will bloom once you are one of us." He pondered out loud, and I dreaded the thought of me being a vampire. I subconsciously scooted further away from him, and he laughed softly.

"You have no need to fear us, my darling. We mean you no harm. I understand you might be unhappy that we almost fed on you, but please understand that we are mean to feed on your species. It is within our nature. But rest assured, we will keep you safe." He comforted, with a soft smile.

"Why can't I or Lilith return to our parents?" I questioned doubtfully.

"You two know too much. We must ensure our species stays a secret from the rest of the human population. If they have knowledge that we exist, there will be chaos." Said Aro, with a serious expression on his pale face "And we do also welcome new additions to our family. You and Lilith show so much potential to be one of us, yourself especially. "Aro clarified.

I sat there, shocked. "What makes me any different from Lilith?" I asked, curious.

"As I said earlier, young one, there is a great amount of evidence that points towards you bearing a gift once you are turned." Aro explained gleefully, but as he noticed my speechless expression, his face fell. "Oh how inconsiderate of me. All this has perhaps been a bit too much for your mind to process?" He queried his face in polite concern.

"I-I just…I just need some time to think about all this… Are you going to change me right away?" I asked, my mind desperate for an answer, and hoping it wasn't a yes.

Aro laughed. "My dear one, you have all the time in the world to think about it. No, we won't change you at this instant. That would be a heavy mass to drop onto your delicate shoulders right now. We'll give it…a year." Aro contemplated, his hand stroking his chin in thought.

A year…although a year consisted of 12 months and 365 days, it felt so short. But I couldn't imagine how diminutive that amount of time was through a vampire's ancient eyes. I shuddered at the thought of being immortal, never moving on in the age line. Just being the same old 15 year old Alvira…

My thoughts then lingered over to Lilith, and I blurted out a question. "What about Lilith?" I demanded, and then my cheeks reddened at my sudden rude outburst. I muttered a small sorry and Aro laughed, brushing off the flare-up.

"I have not forgotten about your young friend Lilith. She may join us as well and keep you company my dear. Who knows, she may by some chance have a gift equally as capable as what I predict in yours. So many possibilities…It makes me brimming with joy just thinking about the future!" Aro exclaimed elatedly.

Unfortunately, that same thought didn't apply to me. I dreaded thinking about the future, which is if I had one at all anymore. My body didn't have a future that was for sure. It would never fully mature unless Aro bumped up the deadline to 4 more years. Then maybe I might have _some _curves and a decent sized chest.

"If you truly wished, I can make arrangement for you to see your parents, but that time will come in the future.

Aro then stood up, and smiled. ""If you truly wished, I can make arrangement for you to see your parents, but that time will come in the future." I immediately straightened up at the proposal, and hope slowly calmed my nerves down.

"That is all for today. We will continue our chat again shortly. I still must convene with my brothers about some thoughts I have. I will get Heidi to give you a tour of our home. And soon, you may call it yours as well." Aro beamed, and proceeded to glide his way out of the library.

I followed him out of the library, hoping to come back again to look at the wondrous selection of books. I had always loved reading; it was like escaping into another world.

Aro lead me back into the throne room, where Heidi picked me up after ending her casual conversation with some of the other Volturi members. We walked out from what I assumed was their back door, and I was met with a wondrous garden.

It was all clever architecture. The garden was huge, but thanks to the castle's colossal size, no human would ever have access to this location, unless the Volturi allowed them access to their rear door. The garden was absolutely blocked by the castle from the rest of Volterra, but despite the looming turrets and towers, sunlight still managed to shine through and reach the lovely flowers.

I gazed around in wonder, basking in the feeling of the warm sun touching my skin. There were flowers of all kinds, roses, violets, tulips, lilies… I slowly walked towards the garden; the flowers seeming to beckon me closer with their exquisite petals.

I was so caught up in the beauty the plant life displayed, that for a split second, I forgot I was with the Volturi. I forgot about my future about being a vampire, and time seemed to bring me back to when my sweet Grandmother educated me about the different kinds of plant life.

All of my thoughts were interrupted when I turned around and found Heidi walking towards me, stepping into the sunlight. As the sun hit her marble skin, reflections started dancing in the air as her skin began shimmering. I was suddenly reminded of my dream and everything clicked into place. My eyes widened as I realized what my dream was about. The sparkling skin, the lightning reflexes, and the girl I saw in the reflection. It was all me.

It was like my dream confirmed everything; I was going to be a vampire – an ethereal being, no different than any of the creatures inhabiting the building in front of me.

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><p><strong>For all you guys wondering and pondering these thoughts - NO! Alvira's ability isn't a copy of bellas. Its similar but not quite! More will be revealed on it, and *HINT* it involves mirrors. Feel free to guess in ur review or a PM. As for Lilith...well we'll have to see about her :)<br>**

**O and DISCLAMER: i DON'T OWN ANYTHIN, ITS ALL STEPHANIE MEYERS. EXCEPT FOR ALVIRA AND LILITH AND THEIR MOMS AND DADS AND EMILIA. THOSE ARE THE ONLY CHARACTERS I OWN.**

**Well hope u guys all had a good week. I sure haven't . been up late and** **waking up an hour before school starts... hardly enough time to get ready and eat breakfast (yes I am a girl, and YES I do take a long time to get ready in the morning)**

**Well, now that i've finally got this chapter off my back, i'm going to go sip on some hot chocolate and prob head to bed while I watch some shows on my laptop. Mr D anybody? Glee?**

**Snowbell :) **


	5. Getting Aquainted

**Hello again.**

**So, last chapter i said I would have this chapter uploaded fairly quickly, but ironically i haven't uploaded in two weeks lol. I am incredibly sorry bout that but HERE IT IS.  
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><p>I continued to stare at Heidi's shimmering skin, confounded. I half expected her to burn to ashes under the sunlight like the silly horror comics I read suggested, but she looked dazzling and perfectly intact. She casually continued walking towards me, not a care in the world about the blazing fireball shining down on her. She raised an eyebrow quizzically at my gawking, and then realization dawned on her. "Oh, <em>this<em>; I've gotten so used to it that I've forgotten this is quite a foreign sight to you. It's rather silly, I know, but our skin as you can see is ..._highly_ reflective." She answered nonchalantly.

"How do you manage to walk out in public like that? Especially with the sun here in Italy..." I said, looking at her short sleeved outfit.

"We simply cover up. For me though, I sometimes put on layers of foundation. It helps while luring humans, you and Lilith being a prime example." She stated simply, while eyeing me smugly. I frowned at the memory, and averted my eyes to a patch of pink Cosmos.

"I think you've got enough of an eyeful of the garden…and my skin. We've still got a lot of places to go to, so let's move on." Heidi prompted, and she made her way towards the building. I trailed behind slowly, but not after giving the flowers one last look of longing.

Once inside, Heidi led me through more hallways, and if she wasn't guiding me, I would have already been lost in the endless twists and turns of the hallways. It also didn't help that I had a poor recall.

We entered a large room that resembled that of a lobby. I immediately remembered that Heidi led us through this room first on her evil tour. We stopped in front of an elevator, and as we waited for it to reach our floor, I spotted the receptionist from my first visit here. She was filing papers into drawers and jotting notes down hastily, and on her ear was a pencil that was dangerously close to falling out. She had heard the clicking of Heidi's high heels, and looked up briefly. She dismissed us at first, but then quickly looked up again with widened eyes of disbelief. I stared back at her curiously as she startedquestioning Heidi in wary Italian, gesturing towards me.

I then wished desperately I had taken Italian in school, because I couldn't understand a word of her and Heidi's conversation. They looked over at me a couple of times, and I saw a hint of jealousy flash in the receptionists' eyes.

The elevator finally arrived, and as I stepped into the elevator, I caught a glimpse of loathing in the look the woman gave me. Heidi bid her goodbye after stepping in shortly. When the doors closed, I instantly turned to Heidi.

"What's she doing here? She's human, is she not?" I implored, anxious for answers.

Heidi chuckled. "Of course she's human, she's our receptionist. She usually handles all our paper work and other…human qualities we must uphold in this place." She explained.

"Alas, it isn't every day that we detain humans from my tours, but you and Lilith seem to be _such_ a special case. And judging by the look she gave you, she's most likely _very_ jealous." smirked Heidi, and the look on her face implied that she was not very fond of the lady.

"Wh-what? Jealous, of _me_?" I asked incredulously. Why would she be jealous of me, who has been kidnapped from home and doomed to a life of eternity?

"She's been begging for us to turn her for a while now. It's starting to be quite annoying, really." Heidi retorted with a sigh.

"Then why do you keep her around?" I inquired.

"Well, to put it shortly, she's just eye candy really. We don't really _need_ humans to organize our books, our other members can do that easily. However, having her around makes the atmosphere less tense for the humans. Aro never pays too much attention to her requests for immortality, but he'll probably cave quite soon. She's a rather _persistent_ one…" Heidi mused.

With a _ding_, the elevator finally reached our destination. I followed Heidi out of the elevator and looked around. The whole room was shaped like a dome, with a high ceiling. Maps lined the walls and constellations were etched onto them.

Across from the room were a few telescopes, all neatly set up and ready to be viewed through once the sun had set.

"Well I don't think I really need to explain this place, it's just your average observatory." Heidi announced, seeming bored. I had the impression that astronomy didn't amuse Heidi half as much as perhaps something like fashion.

Heidi was right though, it didn't seem to be as brilliant as the throne room or the massive library. The room was large, but despite all the posters that lined it's walls, it was very plain.

"Oh, don't get me wrong though. It may look very dull at the moment, but just come here at night. You'll be pleasantly surprised." Heidi proclaimed. And with that, we left the observatory. I was eager to come back here at night to see what the 'surprise' was.

Heidi proceeded to show me different rooms that had a wide array of purposes, such as lounging, more rooms, and even a kitchen for their human visitors. There weren't very many windows, just some placed here and there. Occasionally on the tour we would encounter other members of their coven, and each one we met would look at me with hungry eyes. I was going to have to get used to being ogled at like a snack.

Finally, our tour had come to an end. I was exhausted by the time she showed me through the last door, a lounging room. I plopped down on one of the cushions. Heidi smirked, "Tired already? Well, I guess this castle is rather large through the eyes of a human. But it gets better, trust me." She reassured.

"Yeah, I hope so." I answered, and slumped into one of the plump cushions.

"Looks like _someone's_ out of shape" A gruff voice chuckled. I was so preoccupied by my exhaustion that I had failed to notice the presence of another vampire in the room. I looked around warily, looking for the source of the voice.

There sitting on another couch was Felix, one and on the remote surfing through channels on a wide flat screen. He regarded me with amusement in his eyes, and then returned back to chanel surfing.

I averted my eyes slowly. I was still _very_ intimidated by him, and I was surprised he was sitting there so…casually.

I gave Heidi a pleading look to not leave me in this room alone with that Hulk, but to my misfortune, she did exactly the opposite.

"Well, I have to go organize the next tour. I'll leave you two to get... _acquainted_." Heidi smiled, and I could see a mischievous glint in her eyes. She closed the door and bid farewell, while smiling a bit too happily.

I slowly looked over at Felix, who had been observing the situation with amusement.

"I guess it's just you. And me._" _Felix stated, and winked. He moved closer until he was just arm's length away, and I stiffened. My heart rate sped up nervously, and I was biting my lip to restrain a fearful squeak.

For the next few moments, the only thing I did was stare straight ahead at the T.V. I was too terrified to move an inch, for he had moved a bit _too_ close for my liking.

"Gee, I would have expected a bit more conversation from you. Judging by how much you were screaming your head off with your little red-headed friend back there. "Felix uttered casually.

Maybe if I just kept quiet he would grow bored, and maybe think I was a mute. Then he would leave and I could quietly sneak back to my bedroom. I remained silent, still staring at the screen and trying to be as apathetic as Marcus.

Moments and moments passed, and I continued to stare at the football game that Felix was watching passively. From the corner of my eye I could tell he occasionally gave me casual glances, hoping I would crack.

"You sure you're comfortable? You've been in the same position for thirty minutes now…" Felix sighed. He reached over to me and I flinched.

"Wh-what are you doing?" I asked, moving to the other side of the couch.

Felix roared with laughter, the sound made me flinch even more because of its sheer volume and the close proximity to my ear. "Relax, cheesecake. I was just reaching for the other remote." He snickered. I breathed a sigh of relief, and tried to muster up a smile. It came up as a very, tiny nervous one that only reached half my lips.

"Um… I think I'm going to go back to my room. And …take a nap." I say, nervously. I cautiously got up from the couch, like I was trying not to startle a kid with anger issues - and started taking stiff steps to the door.

"Hah, alrighty then. I'll be right here if you ever need any…_entertainment." _Felix said, smirking. From the corner of my eye, I could see his eyes on my retreating back. I muttered a timid farewell, and closed the door behind me gently. I slowly let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding, and made my way back over to the elevator.

I tapped my foot impatiently on the floor and crossed my arms. Why was this elevator so slow? It was starting to tick me off.

At last, the lift arrived and I was about to step in, but my movement was stopped when the sight of a young girl greeted me. She stood there, back straight and hands at her side. Her blond hair, almost passing as brown, was tied in a neat, elegant bun. She was all clad in black. Black cloak, black shoes, black leggings…

She looked no older than I was, and her petite frame suggested she was younger even. But her eyes were a deep crimson and her face held a passive look that you would not find on the faces of ten year olds. She also held the same vampire demeanor as the rest of her blood- hungry…_colleagues._

She stared back at me with bored eyes, with an elegant brow arched inquiringly. Her lips curled up into a slight grimace as she took in my appearance. I probably looked like crap, but then I remembered how Heidi dolled me up, and stood up a little straighter.

"So you must be that _human_ everyone has been rambling on about." She frowned, scrutinizing me. Her voice was bell-like, high and light. It held a slight amount of disdain and disgust.

I was at loss for words, so I didn't reply. I simply stared back like a wide-eyed idiot.

She scoffed, "Aro may have ordered the majority to treat you like a princess, all safe and…_at home._ But I will have_ none_ of that. You're no different than any other of your pathetic species."

She stared at me for a few seconds a small evil gleam in her eyes, and I stared back, wondering what was going on in her mind. I felt like I just got slapped in the face by her insults, and I wished desperately that she would just step out of the elevator so I could step in and push the button and just be off on my way…

The girl's eyes than widened in disbelief, and she growled lowly. My face scrunched up in confusion at her actions, and she took a few threatening steps towards me. I backed up cautiously, not wanting to get too close to this vicious girl.

"What _are _you?" she demanded harshly. Her eyes were narrowed and her jaw was clenched in anger.

She lunged at me and I braced myself for the worst, closing my eyes - but nothing came. I opened them, and there stood Alec, one hand on the girls arm.

She stared at Alec disbelievingly. "Alec, don't interfere! She doesn't _deserve_ to be here! No human does!" she snarled angrily.

"Sister, dear, calm yourself. We wouldn't want to frighten her so much on her first day. She might not be able to take it." Alec said calmly, with a smirk. My eyes narrowed at him. He was mocking me, just like some of the older kids used make fun of my eye color at my private schools. So this was Jane, the famed twin of Alec's that Emilia had mentioned.

"My ability…it's not working!" Jane grumbled angrily through gritted teeth. Alec's eyes appraised me curiously. "Not working? What do you mean…" he trailed off, and went silent, slowly letting go of my wrist.

I looked at them both in puzzlement; they seemed to both be distracted at this very moment. I tried slipping past Jane but Alec grabbed my wrist again. I winced at the coldness and hardness of his skin.

"Maybe...No, you're definitely human. You have a heartbeat, and your skins far too warm to be one of us." uttered Alec in doubt.

"What's going on…of course I'm human!" I retorted in disbelief, still very confused about these two.

He looked at me long and hard, scrutinizing me. And Jane still regarded me with an angry glare, her expression reminding me of Caius's permanent scowl that seemed to never leave his demeanor.

"Jane? Alec? And _Alvira_ too! What a wonderful surprise!" a melodic voice suddenly exclaimed.

We all glanced at the voice's direction, and it was none other than Aro. He walked towards us with graceful strides, and he regarded us with happy eyes.

"Master," Alec and Jane greeted simultaneously. Aro smiled, and then his eyes drifted towards me.

Wait, what was I supposed to say? Master? Aro?

"M-Master…"I stuttered, and Aro chuckled.

"Oh Alvira, my dear, you flatter me so! There is no need for such formality's, simply 'Aro' will do." he smiled and I returned it sheepishly. Jane was glaring at me with so much hatred that I would have probably be dead if looks could kill.

His eyes then traveled at Alec's hand that was on my wrist. Well it _was _on my wrist but his hand had lowered so much that it looked like we were holding hands. Alec noticed Aro's sudden observation, and quickly released my hand.

Aro smiled gleefully. "It brings me such happiness to see you being aquainted so soon! And on your first day too! Aren't we such a social butterfly?"

I gave him the most determined smile I could muster up. If I could keep Aro happy, then I was guaranteed safety. "I do try, Aro." I replied smoothly, and he chuckled.

"Wonderful. Well then, I must be off on my way. You three do have a good time!" He bid, and then he was off, disappearing down the long hallways. Jane turned back to me, her glare returning and ten times as icy.

"_Look,_ even if Aro likes you, it doesn't mean I do. Nor does my brother, and I suggest you _stay away from us_ if you want to continue on with all four of your uselesslimbs." threatened Jane furiously, and stormed off in the other direction. Alec still remained, staring at me curiously.

I stared back. "Aren't you going to follow your…_sister?"_ I asked, my eyes slumping to the floor at the knowledge that people like Jane were in the same building. I was never good at dealing with harsh people.

He chuckled, the sound was musical and I wished I could hear it more often. "Jane has a habit of letting her anger take over. Especially when her gift is rendered useless, but I reassure you that I'm the much calmer twin." There it was again, the inability to use their 'gifts' on me.

"I've noticed." I retorted, and my stare returned to the ground nervously. It was a habit of mine whenever I talked to guys that were my age, And _really_ attractive.

"U-um well… I best be off." I stuttered lamely, and made my way over to the elevator. He grabbed my wrist once again and I looked back, stunned.

He looked at me for a few seconds, and then released my arm. "It's nothing, farewell." He muttered, and he was gone.

I hurriedly got into the lift, not wanting any more interruptions from anymore of the terrifying inhabitants of this building. I was relieved when the doors finally closed, and took a moment to rethink of the events that just happened.

So _that_ was Jane. She had a pretty face, but the cold looks and scowls she gave me quickly distorted her beauty in my head. I was going to have to avoid her whenever I could, because she looked like she was going to bite my head off back there. And there was also Alec…he was so mysterious…_'and so handsome'_ a voice in my head sighed dreamily.

I slapped my mental conscience for thinking like that. He was probably as much of a killer as everyone else here, and If I remembered correctly about what Emilia said about him, he was very dangerous. I absently rubbed my wrist, where Alec's cool hand had touched. His skin, although cold, it felt…_soothing._

I finally arrived at the floor my room should have been at. I walked down the corridors, and I finally found the door that was mine. I opened it and to my surprised I saw Lilith and Chelsea, sitting on the floor talking. They looked over and Lilith's face brightened.

"Al! You should come and join us. Chelsea was just talking to me about the history of her home! It's so fascinating, you must listen!" exclaimed Lilith.

"Um.. I really shouldn't…" I said reluctantly, but I had no choice in the matter because Lilith had arrived in front of me and tugged me over to sit on the floor with her and Chelsea.

Chelsea regarded me with a smile, but she seemed to be watching my every movement…It made me feel a tiny bit uncomfortable, being under the scrutiny of her sharp eyes.

"So as I was saying…" Chelsea started, and she continued to talk about the architecture, and small things that seemed to peak Lilith's interest. I, however, sat there bored, and Chelsea's chiming voice was like relaxing background noise to me.

While she continued to enlighten Lilith, my mind wandered off to other matters on hand. First off were my parents, who were right now most likely worried sick. I should have arrived home by now, embraced by my parents, and maybe even going out for a nice dinner. Instead, I'm sitting here in the home of murderers, and soon I would be forced to call this dreaded place _my_ home as well. I shuddered at the thought of having to feed on humans. Were there maybe vampires that _didn't_ see humans as snacks? Ones that shared the same mindset as I do now, or maybe they _use_ to until their vampire instincts took over them.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Lilith suddenly nudged me. I looked up startled, and thanks to my preoccupied mind, I _just_ took notice of Chelsea looking at me patiently.

"Oh…um…I'm sorry, what?" I asked awkwardly.

"I asked 'what is your favorite part about this castle'." Chelsea repeated patiently.

'_I don't like any part of your wretched home! Your hallways all look the same and your habitat needs a desperate makeover!' _Was what I wanted to say, but refrained myself and went for a more polite approach. "Um, well I liked the designs of the walls and…"

I mentally did a face palm. The walls didn't _have_ any designs. They were all one color and I had clearly picked the wrong response. I tried to think of the many rooms Heidi showed me, and tried to highlight one of them. Then I remembered the observatory.

"….and the observatory. Stars truly fascinate me and…I would love to go there at night." I finished. At least I didn't elaborate any further on my 'love' for the walls.

Chelsea laughed softly. "Ah, yes the observatory. At night, wonderful things appear in that room and through that telescope. I think it's quite romantic when you go there at the right time." She confided , her eyes reminiscing.

"And you must have a rather sharp eye to have noticed the intricate patterns on the walls. It's how we distinguish each hallway." She explained, and I sat there, dumbfounded. I had absolutely no idea that there were any patterns on the walls at all. And my eyes weren't very sharp at all, so I made a mental note to do a very close-up examination of the walls next time I stepped out. I just simply nodded in agreement, acting as if I didn't make up me seeing the wall's decorations.

"I must take my leave now. Lilith, it has been rather pleasant being in your company. And Alvira…it's nice to meet you. I'll leave you two to catch up with each other." She said, and gracefully made her way to the door, gently shutting it behind her. I looked to Lilith, who was sporting a huge smile.

"I can't believe we're actually here, it's like a fairytale. We're living in a _castle_ and Aro, Marcus, and Caius are like the kings! And they have wives too, so that makes kings _and _queens!" rambled Lilith, and I looked at her in disbelief.

"Lilith, are you _hearing_ yourself right now? These guys are _vampires_, and you talk about them like they're the greatest thing in the universe!" I accused angrily, "You sound like a _child."_

Lilith looked at me hurtfully, but then anger replaced her expression. "A _child?_ All these years of you crying on my shoulder and _complaining_ about your problems to me, and you call me a child?" She spat furiously. My anger immediately dissipated at her statement and how right it was. It was always me with the emotional outbursts and tears. But it had seemed like Lilith all of a sudden switched roles with me during our little adventure here, and frankly, it was scaring me.

"'Then why…why are you acting so _happy_ to be here? You and I were so scared when we realized what was happening on that tour. And all the way up until we met Chelsea… you all of a sudden…" I trailed off, unable to describe her current state.

For the first time since our encounter with Chelsea, Lilith looked confused. For a few seconds she stayed silent, most likely thinking over my words. Then she ran a hand through her red hair, as if she was stressed. "I…I don't know. When I met Chelsea, everything suddenly felt right. These people didn't feel like predators anymore, they felt like…_family. _And when I was talking to Chelsea here, she was friendly and I felt safe. Alvira, don't you feel the same way about these people? Why didn't Chelsea do the same for you?" She asked, her distant eyes finally focusing on me in puzzlement

I looked at her, and then it hit me. Aro couldn't read my thoughts, and Chelsea couldn't brainwash me or bind me or whatever she was doing. "Maybe…maybe Chelsea couldn't use her power on me... Aro couldn't get into my brain… and this girl I met – Jane – she couldn't use her ability either…" I answered slowly…

"Y-your right…this is all so weird. Now that I think about it, whenever I'm around those people, I feel like I'm bonded to them, and I _just_ met them. I look up at Aro, Marcus and Caius as if their my masters, and the feeling is especially strong when I'm around Chelsea…" She described warily, looking as if she had a headache.

"I don't know what Chelsea's power is, but it's not brainwashing. I could think clearly, and every decision was on my behalf. I felt _closer_ to these people. Yes, _closer_! That's the word, and now that I'm talking to you…the effects feel like they are wearing off just slightly." Lilith clarified.

I sighed. What was wrong with me? Was there maybe something special about my brain that blocked out their supernatural powers?

"Oh right, I talked to Aro a few hours ago. He's….He's planning on changing us." I announced slowly.

Lilith looked at me quizzically. "Changing us? In what way?"

"Lilith…We're going to be…one of them. He's planning on changing us in a year." I admitted, a feeling of trepidation washed over me.

"Wh-What? I thought…but...a-a year?" She sputtered in disbelief. I nodded my head somberly. She sat down on her bed and rested her head on her hands. An act of fatigue, Lilith always did this when she was extremely stressed.

I went to sit down next to her, feeling the same stress. She took a deep sigh. "We only have a year… that seems so…so short. "Breathed Lilith softly. "But wait, why does Aro want us to be vampires all of a sudden?"

"He wants us to join his family, the Volturi. He thinks we might have some kind of special gift or something…" I answered doubtfully.

Her eyebrows scrunched up in thought, and then she looked at me with wide eyes. "…It's probably because none of their special talents are working on you! I mean, it's not like I could prevent them from entering my mind…that Alec guy easily took my senses away…" And she trailed off, remembering the most-likely very horrifying memory of having no senses.

"Sure but…maybe it's just a fluke. There's nothing special about me, and if there's anyone that's going to have a ability, it's going to be you." I concluded, and Lilith smiled.

"We'll ask Aro about it tomorrow…together." She confirmed, and I nodded in agreement. Lilith seemed to be returning back to her normal self, and I was glad. After our discussion, we simply started talking and reminiscing about random parts of our life and trying to get our mind off of our disastrous fate.

I then found myself yawning, and I looked at the fancy clock on the wall. It was still early evening, but I was probably tired from all the walking on Heidi's tour and mental exhaustion. Lilith offered her bed for me to nap on, and I gladly accepted the offer.

I dozed off in a matter of seconds, and had a relatively dreamless nap. I then heard voices that at first were incoherent mumbles. '_I'm just dreaming, or half asleep…this can't be important'_ my hazy self-conscience uttered, and I tried blocking out the noises.

Then, a piercing scream shattered my dreaming state, and I sat upright in alarm. In front of me was Jane with a smile on her face that seemed so angelic, but the scream suggested otherwise. However, what opened my eyes the most was Lilith on the floor, sobbing, screaming, and writhing in pain.

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><p><strong>And there's Jane for you! So evil...<strong>

**Thank you so much to all the people have reviewed, added to alerts, and favourited. It means alot to know that people are enjoying this story because, well, it's my first ever fanfic. I apologize if this chapter kinda seemed a bit slow and boring, but it should pick up the pace in the next one. **

**-Snowbell  
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	6. An Inconvenience

**Hey everyone,**

**First of all I have to deeply apologize for my half a year absence. My excuse is that my laptop broke down that had chapter 6 on it, and I didn't get one until a few months later. The story had kinda drifted away from my mind and I felt really guilty not updating. I've recently found my motivation to write again, and I got a Mac (which is great for writing stories on) so updates should be coming in more frequently now. Reading my past work, I have realized I made a whole bunch of mistakes and It's kind of embarrassing reading, but I don't think I'm going to rewrite any of it.  
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**I truly want to finish this story, and it still has a long ways yet. I hope you guys stick around :)  
><strong>

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><p>"What the…"<p>

I was too shocked to say anything else at the scene in front of me. Another piercing shriek from Lilith sounded and I felt tears welling up. I felt paralyzed with fear as I watched Lilith clutch her head in her hands.

Jane remained standing there, simply staring at Lilith's struggling form with a smile on her face - as if she was _enjoying _it.

A surge of foreign anger rushed through me replacing my fear. I had never seen my best friend in such pain before, and I also had _never_ seen someone who seemed to enjoy hurting people so much. I sprung up from the bed and lunged at Jane on impulse. The next thing I felt was the painful sensation of being back- handed to the ground. My cheek stung with unbelievable pain as I tried to comprehend how Jane had knocked me to the ground so swiftly. I slowly lifted myself upright into a sitting position. I cup

Jane looked down on me in disdain, and she was right next to me in a split second. I gasped and flinched backwards on instinct. She grabbed my hair and threw me across the room. I cried out in pain as I crashed into the large dresser. I fell to the ground, my arm aching madly as it was the first to collide with the dresser and cushion my fall. Tears started to form in my eyes and I cursed myself for being so weak. For not being able to be there for Lilith when she was always there for me. My hair fell over my face like a protective curtain, shielding it from Jane's sight. I couldn't let her see me cry – I would not give her that satisfaction. I desperately tried blinking away the tears in my eyes, but each ache from my cheek and arm brought on a stronger urge to sob.

I felt Jane's presence right next to me, and I squeezed my eyes shut – bracing myself for the next wave of pain.

Instead, I heard a bell like laugh. Under any other circumstance I would have found it quite soothing and lovely, but right now it only brought on anger.

"You aren't completely immune to pain, are you now? Ah yes, this opens up a plethora of opportunities for me to show you what it's like to receive a gift from _me_." She whispered lowly. I said nothing as silent tears streaked down my face.

She then stepped on my injured arm, and I screamed as she painfully started applying more pressure slowly. "No, stop, please don't…"

She paid no attention to my plea as she stepped on my arm with even more unimaginable force.

A painful shriek emitted from my mouth as I heard a sickening crack sound from my arm. It was broken.

"Let this be a warning to you, _human_. If you _ever_ try to intervene in my matters again, I will make sure you get _twice_ the amount of pain as to what you received today."

She grabbed my hair and pulled me up eye level to her angelically calm face. A malicious and giddy glint in her eyes, as if someone just gave her a new toy. This wasn't a look any normal excited girl would have. This was the look of a girl who ripped wings off of flies for enjoyment.

"Now, is that understood?"

With humiliation, I nodded weakly. I was getting woozy from the pain of my fractured arm, and I was starting to see two Jane's. She stared at my face in disgust for a few more seconds, and she let go of my hair, my body dropping back to the floor in the process.

I heard her scoff and the creaks of the door being opened. I whimpered from the immense pain that emitted from my arm. I had never broken any bones before, and this was a frightening experience. I looked at it and gasped. There was a large white mark where her foot had been, and I could see a massive bruise start to form. I silently thanked the gods that she was out of the room and hadn't done anything else to me.

"A-Al? Are you okay?" I heard Lilith's voice frantically ask.

"M-my arm…it's broken…" I said in a haze, all this pain was making me extremely dizzy.

"O-Oh my god, what happened?" She scurried over to my side.

Before I could answer her, everything turned to black.

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><p>I woke up on the soft surface of a bed. I attempted to sit up but a sharp pain ran up my arm and I immediately went back down. I slowly started remembering what had happened - Jane had broken my arm. I quickly took a look at it, and to my surprise I was greeted by the sight of a big bulk of material – my arm was in a cast. I sighed dejectedly – <em>'So much inconvenience…'<em>

My eyes peered around the room, which I recognized to be mine. Someone had been kind enough to carry me all the way back here, but I wondered whom?

I slowly withdrew the covers to reveal my other arm. To my surprise, it was in a big bulky cast. Whoever brought me back to my room was also kind enough to bandage up my arm.

I sighed. What was I thinking, trying to attack Jane like that? There was no doubt that she was going to beat me up easily, but yet I still tried to hit her blindly…

_If I were a vampire…then maybe I would stand a chance against her… _

I immediately shook that thought away. It hadn't even been half a year yet and I was already thinking about the what-ifs of being a vampire. The thought of feeding off of humans and no sleep…it was a bit gruesome to think about.

I heard the soft creak of the doorknob being turned, and I raised my head to glance at the door. Heidi walked in, wearing an un-amused expression.

"Your awake. Aro wants to see you." She informed.

I tried sitting up again, this time careful not to move my arm. My back also ached a bit, but I was sure I could manage.

I slowly made my way towards Heidi, and she eyed my cast warily. "Well well, injured already I see?"

"It was Jane…"

"Your second day, and you've already gotten on bad terms with Jane? Your going to have a rough time" Heidi mused, and my heart sank.

She once again lead me down the vast hallways of the castle, and this time she escorted me straight to the library, where Aro was sitting reading a book.

"Have a seat Alvira, Heidi you may go."

Heidi bowed and she walked out of the library in seconds.

I took the same seat I had sat in when Aro and I had last talked. It seemed a bit like déjà vu, except this time I had a big bulky cast on.

"How is your arm my dear?"

"It's been better…." I moved it for emphasis and I winced as it throbbed a bit with pain.

"It would be best for you not to strain your arm too much – we wouldn't want any more injury than we already have. I will have one our guards specialized in medical care to examine it daily. I see they have already done a fair job of bandaging your arm up."

"Yeah thanks…"

Aro laughed, "Oh don't thank me my dear, thank them. I deeply apologize for Jane's actions – she has a hard time accepting the fact that you seem to be insusceptible to her gift. I have already talked to her and I'm sure she feels at least a slight sense of remorse for her actions."

I had a hard time believing that Jane was capable of feeling anything close to humane, other than her sick delight for pain.

"She will keep her distance from now on, but please refrain from provoking her. Jane has quite the temper and sometimes - I'm afraid even _I'm_ not capable of stopping her actions when she is angry."

"Her gift is pain, right?" I asked.

"Correct. I'm surprised that you know that, since you have never experienced it before. Perhaps it was a lucky guess?"

"Emilia told me back in the airport..."

"Right, yes, of course…" Aro said thoughtfully, "I hope you will forgive Jane for her behavior," Aro smiled.

"Now there is also something else I wish to inform you of - We are going to be having guests arrive in our home tomorrow."

"Guests?"

"Yes, very special guests might I add. They are my old friends, and they have caught word of your arrival here in Volterra."

'_My forced arrival...' _I thought in my head. "Who are they?"

"Just a rather simple coven that likes to travel. They were rather curious of you and Lilith, so they have decided to stop by and send their greetings. I hope they are within your best interests. They should be arriving here soon after noon, so please have yourself ready by then." Aro said.

"Yes sir…"

"That will be all then. Please take good care of your arm, and have a good night my dear." Aro smiled.

"Same to you." I rose from my seat and walked out of the library. I was rather curious about these visitors that were going to be here tomorrow. What would they be like? Friendly? Or scary and cruel like Jane?

I walked out and was immediately greeted by Heidi. She once again, led me back to my room. But before she left, I had to ask her about our visitors.

"Um, Heidi…"

"Yes?" Heidi stopped at the door.

"You know we're having visitors tomorrow right?"

"Of course, everyone knows these things around here."

I started to feel a bit dumb for asking since she was obviously a vampire with a super brain, but I continued, "Who are they exactly? Aro just told me they were a coven that liked to travel."

Heidi sighed. "Oh right, I suppose _you_ don't know. They're the Denali coven, and you won't have to worry about them attacking you – they don't drink human blood."

That definitely caught me by surprise. "What? They don't drink human blood? But their vampires aren't they?"

"They drink animal blood." Heidi said, with a hint of what seemed to be disapproval in her voice.

"Animal blood?"

"Yeah, animal blood. If you want to know more about it you can just ask them yourself tomorrow." Heidi said. She didn't seem to want to discuss the topic any further. "Ok thanks…goodnight."

Heidi closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>I tossed and turned that night; my cast was making it hard to sleep. It started to itch, and any time I moved my left arm the wrong way a jolt of pain would dash up and it would usually take awhile for it to settle down again.<p>

I looked out my window, - at the stars, and an idea crossed my mind. There was an astronomy tower here, wasn't there? Maybe I could clear my thoughts a bit if I just took a glimpse at the sky there. I looked at the clock – midnight. It was the perfect time for stars to appear.

I slowly got out of bed with my broken arm in mind, and scurried out of my room. My heart dropped when I was greeted with a path of two hallways, both looking identical. I decided to take the path to the right, because that's what I always chose in situations like this.

I arrived at the elevator where I met Jane, and took it to the next floor.

The astronomy room was the first door to my right, and with a sigh of relief I sauntered over.

To my surprise, there was already a person there. It appeared to be a boy wearing Volturi attire. '_Maybe visiting a different time would be wiser…_ ' I thought. I didn't want any more trouble from the guards after what happened with Jane.

As I turned to leave, the voice spoke up, "Leaving so soon?"

I froze. "U-um…"

"You haven't even taken a look at the sky yet. Changing your mind so quickly?"

I slowly made my way back into the room. I hid my casted arm behind me in an effort to hide its ugly bulkiness.

I approached the boy that was standing there looking up at the sky through the large window. He turned his head and my eyes widened. It was Alec.

"You should be sleeping." He said. His back was still turned to me.

"I couldn't sleep…" I said, timidly looking out the large window in front of us.

"Understandable. But if I were you, I wouldn't be venturing out this late at night. There are some guards here that don't take too kindly to humans no matter what Aro tells them."

"I'll…keep that in mind." I said. I was still extremely nervous around vampires, _especially_ boys. I was always nervous around boys.

We continued staring at the sky in silence. I was so transfixed by picking out constellations that I nearly forgot Alec was there, until I felt his eyes on me.

I slowly looked to my right where he was, and my breath caught in my throat as I met his crimson stare.

He was _handsome_. His face had a boyish quality to it, but his eyes held a sharp calculation to them. He shared the same smooth pale skin as the rest of his kin, and his hair was a lovely chocolate brown.

"What happened to your arm?"

I snapped out of my thoughts. I was so engrossed in his looks that I didn't notice my arm slowly unveil itself from behind my back. I groaned inwardly, "_Why did he have to see this…"_

"I ran into Jane and…that happened."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "That's odd. Jane usually never inflicts resorts to physical pain."

I shrugged my shoulders slightly. "They say her gift doesn't work on me…"

He scoffed. "Oh right. You're the one that Aro is so happy about."

I frowned. Alec didn't seem to be too happy about me being here.

"Just…try not to be a nuisance." He said irritably, and without another word he walked out of the room.

I felt dejected as I continued to stare at the spot Alec had just stood. '_A nuisance? What have I done to make him think that?'_ I thought sullenly.

I sighed. So far, no one here really seemed to get along or like me. Jane had already made a point by damaging one of my arms, Alec thinks I may become a nuisance, and Heidi didn't really seem to like me either.

I thought of Lilith, who was right now brainwashed along with Emilia. They were both under the influence of Chelsea…who I would assume is also trying to brainwash myself. Right now, I had no one…

I gloomily made my way back to my room – being the pessimist that I was right now; nothing seemed to be going right. Well what would go right anyway when I was going to be turned into a vampire one year from now?

I climbed into my bed and heaved another sigh. It was going to be a sleepless night…

* * *

><p><strong>Phew, so glad I finally got that chapter up! It's a short one, but a fair amount of things have happened. Feel free to drop a review 3<br>**

**Snowbell  
><strong>


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